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- Arkansas Preservation Conference Registration Open
- Preservation Ramble: Tickets on Sale Now!
- Call for 2026 Award Nominations
- Historic County Courthouse Funding
- Most Endangered Places Announcement
- Women in Preservation
- Historic Hotels of America Partnership
- Recent Events: Preservation Crustaceans and Mid Mod Arkansas
- From Our Friends: Destination Downtown and Rosenwald Schools
- Thank You to our Partners and Sustainers
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From the Executive Director
Greetings, Members and Friends:
I hope this finds you well. Thank you for your support of Preserve Arkansas. PA members enjoy yet another benefit thanks to our new partnership with Historic Hotels of America. Continue reading to learn more!
It's an exciting time at PA as we prepare to host the first statewide preservation conference since 2013! Registration is now open for the Arkansas Preservation Conference, which will be held in Hot Springs, October 21 - 23. And this year's Preservation Ramble, inspired by David Hill's book, The Vapors, is also heading to Hot Springs on November 7. Ramble tickets are already selling fast.
I can't believe it's already time, but we're accepting nominations for the 2026 Arkansas Preservation Awards until August 31. Selected projects will be recognized at a ceremony in January 2027.
I hope to see you in Hot Springs this fall!
Kind Regards,
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Rachel Patton
Executive Director
| | Registration Open for the Arkansas Preservation Conference | |
Preserve Arkansas is hosting our statewide preservation conference this fall in Hot Springs! The conference is intended to provide high-quality, accessible learning and networking opportunities for property owners, elected officials, historic district commissioners, Main Street managers, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood groups, developers, architects, planners, preservation professionals, and more. Optional pre-conference activities include the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions’ Commission Assistance and Mentoring Program (CAMP), offered through a partnership with the City of Hot Springs, a Preservation in Progress Trolley Tour, and a guided walking tour of Bathhouse Row. Continuing education units for conference sessions will be available through the American Institute of Architects and the American Planning Association.
During the the conference, on October 22, we will also be hosting our Annual Membership Meeting and a reception to announce our 2026 list of Arkansas's Most Endangered Places!
>> Click here for details and to register or sponsor.
| | Tickets on Sale Now for the Preservation Ramble! | |
On November 7, we will host our annual Preservation Ramble—also in Hot Springs! This year’s rollicking history tour is inspired by David Hill’s book, The Vapors, which will be included with tickets, so you can get familiar with the places and players beforehand. Author David Hill will give a book talk at the Arlington Hotel before the tour of sites associated with the city’s gambling history.
>> Click here for details and to purchase tickets.
| | 2026 Arkansas Preservation Awards: Call for Nominations | |
Nominations are now open and will be accepted through August 31st for our 2026 Arkansas Preservation Awards. Awards recognize outstanding preservation achievements, people who make a difference in their communities, and projects that inspire others to protect Arkansas’s historic places.
>>Click here to learn more and nominate!
| | County Courthouse Funding | |
Each spring, Preserve Arkansas's Advocacy Committee coordinates a sign-on letter for county judges in support of more funding for County Courthouse Restoration Grants, administered by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. This grant provides critical funding for the maintenance and restoration of historic courthouses in nearly every county in the state.
All but one judge with a National Register-listed courthouse signed the letter this year. We recently learned that AHPP will award $3.37 million in FY27 courthouse restoration grants. Our state is so fortunate to have this grant program!
| | | Most Endangered Places Announcement | |
Our 2026 list of Arkansas's Most Endangered Places will be announced at a reception on October 22 during our Preservation Conference in Hot Springs.
The Most Endangered Places program began in 1999 to raise awareness of historically and architecturally significant properties facing threats such as demolition, deterioration, and insensitive development. Far from being a condemnation, addition to the list is a strong recommendation for preserving a piece of Arkansas’s history, and the publicity generated often leads to new interest and avenues for public and private support for restoration.
>> Learn more about the program here.
| | Russellville’s Latimore Tourist Home is one of many MEP-listed success stories. Listed in 2018, it is now in the care of the City of Russellville and the non-profit Friends of the Latimore Tourist Home. It's been moved, and restoration on the interior has begun. In the future, it will serve as a museum and community space. | | |
Our free Women in Preservation webinar series continues on July 14 with Melissa Dysart. Melissa is the Marketing Manager and Project Coordinator for Level 5 Architecture, which is based in Mansfield, Texas, and has a satellite office in Springdale, Arkansas. She also serves on the board of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History and is the Arkansas Quilt Trails Coordinator for Madison County. Melissa will share her “back roads” journey to a career in restoration and preservation.
>> Click here to register for our July webinar.
Watch previous Women in Preservation talks on our YouTube channel here.
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Melissa Dysart
Marketing Manager
Level 5 Architecture, Springdale
| | This project is generously supported by DEMX Architecture. | |
Partnership with Historic Hotels of America | | Announcing an Additional Member Benefit | |
Thanks to a new partnership with Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide (both programs of the National Trust for Historic Preservation), Preserve Arkansas is pleased to announce that our members will receive a special discount of up to 30% off best available rates at participating historic hotels across America and around the world when booking through the HHA website! Visit our website to learn more; current members should contact us to get your code!
>> Join or renew here!
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On Saturday, May 2, a crowd gathered in the beautiful back yard of Clements and Associates Architecture in North Little Rock’s historic Argenta neighborhood for the return of Preservation Crustaceans, Preserve Arkansas’s crawfish boil held in recognition of National Historic Preservation Month. In addition to all-you-can-eat crawfish—plus shrimp, beverages, and all the fixings—guests enjoyed live bluegrass music from Gus Buck and the Back Porch Committee.
>> Check out photos from the event here!
| | Volunteer cooks Randy Sain, Sid Steel, and Loren Hinton take a break for a photo. | | Mid Mod Arkansas: Little Rock | |
Just a month later, on Saturday, June 6, two sold-out trolleys transported enthusiasts of Mid-Century Modern architecture to six Little Rock properties designed by esteemed Arkansas architect F. Eugene Withrow. Properties included the Tower Building in downtown Little Rock as well as five private homes: the Blue Star/Horizon Home (Ark-La House), Riley House, Withrow Houses Nos. 1 and 2, and the Rogers House. The tour concluded with a reception on the 17th floor of the iconic Tower Building, hosted by Graham and Meredith Catlett.
>>Follow along with the tour here!
| | The Blue Star/Horizon Home (Ark-La House) was one of six properties featured on our 2026 Mid Mod Arkansas tour. | | |
Destination Downtown in Louisiana, September 9-11
The annual Destination Downtown Conference is a dynamic regional gathering
that brings together community leaders, preservationists, and economic
development professionals. Hosted in partnership by Louisiana Main Street, Main
Street Arkansas, Mississippi Main Street Association, and Main Street Alabama, the
conference celebrates the power of historic downtowns and neighborhood
commercial districts as drivers of local vitality and identity. Attendees engage in
inspiring sessions focused on revitalization strategies, placemaking, small business
support, and sustainable growth.
Early-bird registration closes June 30!
| | Louisiana's Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge is the headquarters of this year's Destination Downtown Conference and among several other unique locations where the conference will take place. | | |
Rosenwald Schools National Park Campaign
In the early twentieth century, Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company and friend of Booker T. Washington’s, formed a fund to help address the lack of educational opportunities for African American children across the South. The fund resulted in the construction of nearly 5,000 African American schools and school buildings across the region—389 of them in Arkansas. Today, an estimated ten to twelve percent of the original buildings still exist regionally, with only a handful still standing in Arkansas. The Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Campaign envisions a National Historical Park comprising a visitor center and a small number of Rosenwald Schools throughout the South, with a network of Rosenwald Schools associated with the park but not contained within it.
| | | Thank you to our Partners and Sustainers! | | |
Bray Sheet Metal
MAHG Architecture
Williams & Dean Architecture | Interior Design
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Ms. Christina Aleman and Mr. Adam Smith
Dr. George Betts
Jim and Kathy Boyette
Gary and Ann Clements
Courtney Crouch, Jr. and Brenda Crouch
Courtney and Amber Crouch
Paul Dodds
John C. Edwards
John and Tricia Greer
Gabe and Katherine Holmstrom
Tommy and Christy Jameson
Scott and Amber Jones
Jill Judy and Mark Brown
Bob Kempkes and Mary Matthews
Tim Maddox, AIA
The Honorable Pat and Mrs. Ellen McCabe
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Carl H. Miller, Jr.
John K. Mott, FAIA
Jack Moyer and Elise Roenigk
Justice David and Mrs. Carolyn Newbern
Mark and Cheri Nichols
Leslie Smith Reeves
Emily Jordan Robertson
Aaron Ruby and Veronica Lilly
Solomon Family
Breck and Anne Speed
The Honorable Mark Stodola
Anthony Taylor and Michelle Strause
Ross and Irina Toyne
Dr. Charles and Mandy Welch
Darby and Amiee York
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Our mailing address is:
P.O. Box 305, Little Rock, AR 72203
Call us at 501-372-4757.
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