Arkadelphia's Henderson House Opens as a Bed and Breakfast

Jim Taylor, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism

ARKADELPHIA – It is said that incorporated somewhere within the recently refurbished 9,000-square foot Captain Henderson House at Arkadelphia are remainders from an 1876 cottage. If so, it is clearly a case of humble beginnings being obscured by the magnificence -- and the architectural hodgepodge -- that followed.

The house shares its namesake with Henderson State University and sits at 349 North 10th Street on the school's campus. Both were named for Charles Christopher Henderson, an entrepreneur who became a financial savior and trustee of the college during its years as a Methodist institution. It was Henderson who began turning the cottage into the "big house" that now bears his name. The structure he built is, however, only in part the one that opened in early May as a bed-and-breakfast inn.

Visitors approaching the front entrance of the house now encounter a two-story, Neo-classical portico with groups of three columns, quite sizable for a residential structure, on each side. A second-story balcony rests above the entrance.

Nearly matching roofs on a Queen Anne turret ascending two stories on the right and a round, first-floor veranda on the left provide a visual balance that might easily have been lost in the mixing of architectural styles. The veranda is part of a spacious porch, enclosed by spindle-work railing, that wraps around more than half the house and is bedecked with palms and Adirondack chairs.

At one end of the porch, a circular drive passes under a porte-cochere that allows passengers to disembark from vehicles and enter the inn while avoiding wet weather. The square pillars supporting that extension are among many features typical of the Craftsman style of architecture that is predominant in the rear sections of the house.

When Henderson purchased the property on which the house stands in 1892 it contained two small cottages. While he and his wife, the former Laura Bell Hall of New Orleans, lived in one of them, a daughter was born to them.

In 1903, Henderson was living in Ruston, Louisiana, and managing the Arkansas Southern Railroad. When the railroad sold that year, the family returned to Arkadelphia and their cottage. After removing the other cottage from the property, work began on converting the remaining single-story frame structure into a two-story Victorian masterpiece befitting a man of Henderson's social status.

Born in Scott County, Arkansas, in 1850, Henderson came to Arkadelphia at 19 and subsequently became involved in numerous business ventures. He was a founding member of the Arkadelphia Oil Company; a partner in the Arkadelphia Lumber Company and co-owner of two other timber-related companies; a co-owner of the Ultima Thule, Arkadelphia and Mississippi Railway; and president of the Elk Horn Bank.

He was appointed in 1891 to the board of trustees of Arkadelphia Methodist College and subsequently donated some $20,000 to the school to help it retire debts. In 1903, he became chairman of the college's trustees and held that position for 20 years. In 1904, the school was renamed Henderson College in his honor.

When the state took over the college in 1929, the Henderson name was retained. Now Henderson State University, it is Arkansas' only state-operated college bearing the name of an individual.

There are at least two versions of why Henderson carried the moniker of "Captain." One is that he was at one time a cattle buyer and that such buyers were given the unofficial title of "captain." Another is that Henderson was known as a "captain of industry" in post-Civil War Arkansas.

Henderson lived in the house for only four years. In 1910, the family moved to El Paso, believing that the drier air of western Texas would be better for Henderson's declining health. He died in 1923 in California. Henderson sold the house in May, 1911, for $10,000. In 1918, Claude Phillips purchased it and in 1920 expanded it into its present-day configuration. The house remained in the Phillips family until being sold to the university in 1978, after which it served as the school's museum.

In 1998, the house, then in a state of decline, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. With funds from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council and private sources, the university restored the house for use as an inn.

The first-floor interior of the Henderson House holds as many visual treats as the exterior. Passing through the front door, the visitor's eye is immediately drawn to a wooden ceiling where obviously tedious trim carpentry has created innumerable panels. Ahead is a dogleg staircase with greatly detailed woodwork and two posts topped by light globes on either side of its landing. Above doorways and other openings are intricate fretwork pieces in sunburst and starburst designs. Pocket doors, ornate fireplace mantels and curved windows in a turret sitting room are among other first-floor highlights.

While the second floor is less ornate, its features enhance its present function. Five guestrooms and one suite have been created there to enable the home to serve as a bed-and-breakfast inn. A suite compliant with standards of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act is located downstairs.

Also downstairs are sitting rooms; a small conference room; a game room with book and video libraries; a commercially equipped kitchen; and the innkeeper's quarters and office.

The upstairs guest rooms are located off a foyer and hallway. In the foyer is an armoire holding a computer giving guests access to the Internet. A well-stocked and shared guest services room contains a refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker.

One of the upstairs rooms opens onto the balcony above the front entrance; another is located in the turret with its rounded windows. Each room and suite has a private bath: three with Jacuzzis, three with claw-footed bathtubs and one with a shower only. All have telephones, separate data ports for laptop computers, televisions and VCRs.

The guest rooms and other public rooms are decorated with original and reproduction furnishings from the years 1878 to 1927. Rates for the rooms and suites range from $80 to $110 a night and includes a full breakfast each morning. Open year-round, the house is tobacco free and does not allow pets. Children "old enough to appreciate the ambiance of a bed and breakfast" are welcome.

The house can be rented for weddings, reunions, meetings and other functions. A large tent accommodates outdoor events and an exclusive catering service is available. For more information and an e-mail link, visit www.hsu.edu and select "Bed and Breakfast." The innkeeper may be reached by phone at 870-230-5544 or by mail at 349 North 10th St., Arkadelphia AR 71923.

The Henderson House is located within easy walking distance of Arkadelphia's shopper-friendly downtown, which includes the Clark County Courthouse, now fully restored from damage suffered in a March, 1997, tornado. Destinations for easy day trips from Arkadelphia include Hot Springs, DeGray Lake Resort State Park and Crater of Diamonds State Park.