Webb House project awarded $78K
The ongoing effort to restore the former home of John Lee Webb, the first president of the National Baptist Laymen and an icon of Hot Springs’ Black history, got another boost this month through a $78,251 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
The historic home, located at 403 Pleasant St., just up the street from the Webb Community Center, which was donated by Webb, is being converted into a community resource center and museum of the city’s Black history, with the effort led by the local organization, People Helping Others Excel by Example.
The grant, awarded as part of AHPP’s Historic Preservation and Restoration program, was one of 22 totaling $796,460 given “to encourage and promote preservation of Arkansas’ historic resources by providing financial assistance for restoration of historic properties,” a news release said, which noted the program is financed through proceeds of the Real Estate Transfer Tax.
Cheryl Batts, president and founder of P.H.O.E.B.E., said Wednesday they had asked for more but were “very grateful” for what they received because “we realize with COVID-19 everything was getting cut and we didn’t know for sure how much we would get.”
She said they are expecting a matching Community Development Block Grant of $60,000 to combine with it, noting, “We don’t have it in hand yet. You’ve got to go through the process and have it signed off on, but with those two amounts together we should be able to continue the masonry work and replace the low sloped roofs.”
Batts said it has “been a long haul between when we work and when we start again,” noting they have been in “somewhat of a lull” in recent months as far as
construction while waiting on additional funding because since the project began in 2014 it has always been a “pay as we go” endeavor.
A portion of the funds will go to replace the low slope roof on the south side of the house facing Grove Street “which is leaking,” she said, the “little roof” on the back side and the third ancillary roof that runs across the north side.
As for the masonry work to be completed, Batts noted how all the back exterior walls of the house “will be bricked in and once they brick it in they will have to go back and make sure the masonry between each brick is the same color.
“By the time we get through with all that it will cover the money we have at that point,” she said, “but that’s a pretty big deal. If times were better and we had gotten more money we could have done the fencing and the sidewalk as well. That was the plan.”
The plan for the sidewalk is to restore the “historic basket-weave brick” which means “they will all have to be pulled up and put back down.” She also noted the steps leading up to the front door and the porch “which is unlevel” still need some work.
She said the present goal is to get the exterior completed first and then do the interior. “Once inside, we will call the EPA and get the mold out so the workers will be safe,” she said. “Then we’ll strip everything down and figure out exactly how it was in the beginning.” She noted some of the tenants and residents since the Webbs left had made changes from the original designs.
Batts had told The Sentinel-Record in September 2018 she was hopeful to have the exterior completed by the end of 2020 or first of 2021 and that the renovation of the interior would take less time and be easier and less expensive and could be completed in a year, but would require more funding.
On Wednesday, Batts noted the COVID-19 pandemic, like it has done with many organizations, has greatly affected P.H.O.E.B.E.’s efforts in many projects, including the Webb House restoration.
“We were hit bad,” she said. “It really slowed us down. It’s hard to ask people for money when something like this is going on. Nonprofits in particular were hit hard. Thanks to the Arkansas Humanities Council we have been able to pull ourselves together and we’re up to date at this point.”
While they had hoped to have the exterior done this year, “now it has set us back at least a year,” she said, noting they have to go back to the Historic Preservation and Restoration Grant program for more money at some point and look at other organizations to approach to keep the project going.
“The interior will go much faster,” she said again Wednesday. “The exterior needed a lot of work so it takes longer. It’s very meticulous work, but the floors inside are still pretty good. We may have to replace some wood on the third floor. We’re fortunate, though, in that we’ll be able to use much of what’s already in there and is historic.”
Other aspects of the coronavirus have also impacted the project, she said, noting that the day-to-day maintenance of the grounds, such as cutting the grass and trimming the hedges, had been handled for free by members of Adult and Teen Challenge of Arkansas.
In April, ATCA experienced an outbreak 0f 26 positive COVID-19 cases, forcing the campus to go on a mandatory quarantine. All of them eventually recovered and none had to be hospitalized.
“They couldn’t come out and our grass got so thick. This grass grows at the smell of rain,” Batts said.
Those wishing to donate to the Webb House project can call 624-9400 for more information or visit http://www.theuzuriproject.org and click the donation button, she said.