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OPEN
TO THE PUBLIC
Saturday12:00 - 4:00 Sunday 1:00 - 4:00 Wednesday - Friday (June 1 until Labor Day) 10:00 - 4:00 Wednesday - Friday (Labor Day until May 1) 12:00 - 4:00 Monday & Tuesday by Appointment Adults $2.00 Ages 12 - 18 $1.00 Children - Free Special Rates for Groups The Clayton House is also available for special events, weddings, receptions, seminars, etc. Please call 783-3000 for details. |
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Walking through the doors of this magnificent home automatically takes you back in time to an era of elegance.- This wood frame antebellum house served for years as the family home of William Henry Harrison Clayton, the federal prosecutor in the court of celebrated frontier judge Isaac C. Parker. Clayton purchased the house, which had been built during the 1850's, in 1876. He had he house remodeled and enlarged and the family occupied the home in 1882. The house has eight rooms, each containing an ornate coal-burning fireplace. The servants' quarters and kitchen have been reconstructed on the original foundation. An elegant black walnut staircase leads to the second floor. Although closed to the public, the attic reveals the roof of the original house and two leaning chimneys. They appear straight from the outside, but they are "warped" about two feet out of line to help draw air from the four fireplaces in each chimney. Miss Agnes Oglesby of Fort Smith donated much of the period furniture in the house. William Henry Harrison Clayton was born in 1840 and spent most of his boyhood in Pennsylvania. He moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 1864 and studied law there. He was Superintendent of Public Instruction for a seven-county district and established more than 30 new schools during his tenure. Admitted to the Bar in 1871, he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney for the First Judicial District of Arkansas. Governor Elisha Baxter appointed him Judge of the First Judicial Court in 1873. While living in Pine Bluff, he married Florence A. Barnes, a "Southern Belle." Clayton moved to Fort Smith in 1874 when President Ulysses Grant appointed him U. S. District Attorney of the Western District of Arkansas in the famous court of Judge Parker. Prosecuting over 10,000 cases in Judge Parker's Court, Clayton convicted more than 80 men charged with murder, an unparalleled record. He was re-appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1897. Clayton left Fort Smith in 1897 to serve as Judge of the U. S. Court for the Central District of Indian Territory. He died in McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1920. Clayton is buried in the Fort Smith National Cemetery beside his wife, Florence, who had died 14 years earlier. |
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Enlargement
and remodeling of the Clayton House was completed in 1882. In fact, the
home is much older. When Clayton bought the property in 1876, it had a smaller
abandoned house on it. Clayton virtually had a second house built onto the
first one. Great care has been taken to restore the house exactly as it was when Clayton lived there. The Clayton House today represents an example of total technical restoration. Before beginning reconstruction, repair and repainting, local architects Mott, Mobley, McGowan & Griffin, painstakingly researched old records and photographs. They consulted with longtime residents and undertook an exacting piece-by-piece disassembly of certain features to determine the precise original appearance of the home. Every detail, including the paint scheme and landscaping, is faithful to the Clayton House's appearance at the height of its attractiveness following the extensive Italianate Gothic remodeling of the early 1880's. The floor joists are mortised and the joints of the framework of the great house are all mortise and tenon work. All of the original nails are square and handmade of iron. Original frescoes in the music room ceiling were faithfully recreated during the restoration and are perfect matches to the originals. Glass inserts in the inside set of front double doors and the main back door were carefully matched to the one existing piece of original glass. No light fixtures were added during the restoration of the first floor because candles and kerosene lamps originally illuminated the house. The home was restored both as a landmark to preserve this important facet of local history and as an example of gracious 19th Century family life. This house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Entering the home through the front door, the visitor passes through a small vestibule into the entryway and is greeted immediately by the magnificent walnut staircase. To the left is the drawing room where ClaytonÕs six daughters received guests. The girls sat on the sofas; the guest sat on the chair. The etagere is an original Clayton heirloom. The enormous bay window is a work bay and was designed to draw light into the room. This is where the girls worked on crocheting, sewing, knitting, and other skills of the day. Moving toward the back of the house, the guest enters the carriage receiving room. The porch originally was a porte-cochere. Farther bHTTP/1.1 100 Continue ack, a smaller room served as a library, sitting room or back parlor. Turning to the south, the guest passes through the back foyer with its access to the kitchen. The kitchen was detached from the living space to keep the home cooler in the summer months. Across the foyer is the dining room. The bay window in this room is a serving bay. Dinner servers stood in this bay window during the meal when they were not tending to the needs of diners. The music room is where the family spent its leisure hours. This room has an observation bay window that looks onto the gardens. The four bed chambers upstairs include two connecting rooms on the north side. These were presumably for the daughters because connecting bedrooms were unheard of in Victorian times. The bed in the northeast room belonged to General Benjamin Bonneville. The southwest bed chamber is furnished with period toys. The bathroom was added at the beginning of the 20th Century with the advent of indoor plumbing. The master bed chamber boasts a half tester bed and calls attention to the 12' 4' ceilings on the second floor. The ceiling height helped dispel the heat during summer months. The Claytons raised a son and six daughters in this house. Although its atmosphere seems stiff and formal by today's standards, it was a gracious family home in its day and offers a rare insight into the everyday lives of the upper middle class on America's frontier. Sign Enlargement and remodeling of the Clayton House was completed in 1882. In fact, the home is much older. When Clayton bought the property in 1876, it had a smaller abandoned house on it. Clayton virtually had a second house built onto the first one. |
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