Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Latimore building falls into disrepair
A “last-ditch effort” is underway to save the Latimore Tourist Home in Russellville.
The two-story house was listed in annual editions of The Negro Motorist Green Book as the only lodging for Black travelers between Little Rock and Fort Smith from 1948 through 1964.
The Latimore house is the only Green Book property in Arkansas individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, said Ralph Wilcox, National Register and survey coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
Other Green Book properties in Arkansas are listed on the National Register as part of a larger historic district, he said.
The dilapidated house has been condemned and could soon face demolition.
But Russellville Mayor Richard Harris wants to move it two blocks south to James School Park.
The city will provide the real estate, but it’s going to take private-sector funding to pay for the move and restoration, he said.
Harris said he asked the clergy at New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church, which owns the property, if they would give the house to the city so it can be moved.
That was late last year. He has yet to hear their decision.
“They’re deliberating on their own time, and I respect that,” Harris said. “To get this thing started, we really need to know if this is a possibility.”
Meanwhile, Harris said the building has deteriorated considerably since he became mayor in January 2019.
“The building is going down pretty fast,” he said. “There is a limited amount of time before the house is gone beyond repair.”
Harris said some flooring has been torn out, and the roof has leaks. Water is getting inside the house.
“It needs a lot of work,” he said. “I think it’s in the best interest of Russellville and the community to restore that home.”
Harris said it would cost more than $20,000 to move the house. He doesn’t know what the restoration would cost.
“Before we take ownership, we need to make sure we’ve got the funding in place to get it moved and stabilize it from any further dilapidation,” he said. “A local businessman said he’d roof it for free.”
Harris hopes other Russellville residents pitch in to help with the restoration.
“I thought that, with [Harris’] interest, we might have renewed opportunity for what could be a last-ditch effort to save this local landmark,” Betsy McGuire told the State Review Board of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Commission. She’s chairman of the Russellville Historic District Commission.
The board voted Wednesday to approve the move, which is a prerequisite for approval on the federal level for it to remain on the National Register if it is moved.
“We didn’t want to lose that registration,” Harris said.
The Latimore house is at 318 S. Houston Ave. in Russellville, a few blocks south and west of U.S. 64, which was a major route across Arkansas before interstate highways were constructed.
Built around the turn of the 20th century, the Latimore house operated as a tourist home from the 1940s until the 1970s. A tourist home is a house in which rooms are available to rent. Railroad workers also stayed at the Latimore house.
Another lodging in Russellville, Mrs. M. Jackson Tourist Home, appeared in four early editions of the Green Book.
The first Green Book was published in 1936 by Victor H. Green and Co. of New York City. A 2018 movie called “Green Book” brought attention to the historic travel guides.
During the Jim Crow era, Black people traveling through the South in particular could have trouble finding places to eat, sleep, buy gasoline or get a haircut. The Green Book published lists of businesses that were friendly to Black customers.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened public facilities (at least in theory) to all Americans, and the Green Book ceased publication shortly after that.
“With the introduction of this travel guide in 1936, it has been our idea to give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trips more enjoyable,” read the introduction to the 1949 Green Book.
In 2018, Preserve Arkansas listed the Latimore house as one of the state’s Ten Most Endangered Properties.
Rachel Patton, executive director of Preserve Arkansas, told the State Review Board that she had been talking with leaders of the church.
“It is my opinion that relocation may be the best compromise to save the Latimore house and provide the church with property for expansion,” Patton wrote in her comment to the State Review Board. “The proposed new location would be appropriate given that it is in the same neighborhood at James School Park.”
Preserve Arkansas works to preserve the state’s heritage, and empower people to save and rehabilitate historic places.
“James School Park has its own story to tell,” McGuire wrote in her comment to the board. “The park commemorates the site of the former African-American primary school in Russellville.”
Harris said James School was the only school for Black pupils between Havana in Yell County and Morrilton in Conway County. Many were bused in to attend the school, which has since been demolished.
“The little rock building with three rooms and two bathrooms had served as the cultural bedrock for the local black community,” McGuire wrote. “The park now serves as a much-used gathering place in this predominant black neighborhood. The Latimore Tourist Home and James School Park share a common thread and still have stories to tell. They should be included in the United States Civil Rights Trail.”
According to Preserve Arkansas, the Latimore Tourist Home was built by a Black carpenter, Gordon Parker, for his family.
“Eugene Latimore, an educator and steam engine repairman, bought the home in the early 1930s, and his wife, Cora, opened the house as a tourist home,” according to Preserve Arkansas.