United States Department of the interior National Park Senrice -. National Register of Historic Place3 Inventory-Nomination Form

received

date entered

See Instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections c < t o 2 3 1. Name historic Ye7 1 Masonic Lodge Ha1 7

and or common Carrel 1 ton Mason i c Lodge

- 2, Location

street & number Nfi not for publication

citv, town Carroll ton KAvieinitv of

eode 015 state Arkansas eode 05 countv Carroll

3. Classification Category Ownership Status Present Use

district - public occupied - agriculture - museum X X bui!ding(s) - private 1 unoccupied - commercial - park

- - structure b o t h - work in progress - educational - prlvate residence - site Publie Acquisition Accessible - entertainment - religious - object - in process 2 yes: restricted - aovernrnent - scient ilic

d

industria - being considered -- yes: unrestricted -

- no 11 rran~P9fta;b;~

- other. military - 4. Owner of Property

name Carroll County Historical Society

street & numbr P. 0. Box 249

city, town Berryvi 1 le state Arkansas

5. Location of Leg escription

courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. -- -- Carroll County Courthouse, Eastern District

street & number

cttv. town Berryvi 1 1 e state Arka~sas -. -

6. Faenresentation in Existins Surveys N/A has this property been determined eligible? - yes - noN ! A

- -- - -

- iederal - - stale - county -. ---. -- local

depositary for survey records - - A .- --. --..- -- .- A .. - .+-+.*---

cEty, town ..- - - state .- -. -. -.--. .. = -

Condition Check anc ,..,ek one - excellent - deteriorated L unaltered -X- original site - g d - ruins - altered -- moved date -- ---.-

X - lam - unexposed - - - - - - - - --

a the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Located on a h i 11 above the original settlement of Carroll ton i n Carroll County, t he Ye1 l Masonic Lodge Hal 1 , constructed i n 1876, remains as an excel lent i n t a c t example of a ni neteen t h century ru ra I comuni ty meeti ng structure, Rectangular in plan , t h i s two story frame building was designed to accomodate use as a church on the f i rs t floor and a Masonic lodge on the second f loor . The gable roof is pierced by a belfry t h a t gives the ex te r io r o f this dual-function bui ld ing a re1 igious overtone.

ELABORATION

Sited n e x t t o the comnuni ty cemetery t h a t pre-dates the 1876 construction o f the Yell Masonic Lodge Wall, t h i s frame structure i s covered w i th wide pfne weatherboards, some of which have, over t h e years, been replaced. The heavy hewn oak f 1 oor j o i s t s and s i 7 1 s are he1 d f i rmly together w i t h pegs and rest on a cont i nuous stone foundation. The rectangular bui 1 ding i s approximately f i f ty feet 'long and thir ty- f ive feet wide. The gable roof i s covered w i t h wood shingles and i s pierced on i t s west slope by a brick stove flue. The be1 fry t h a t straddles the south (front) end of the roof rjdge i s square w i t h 1 ouvered vents, p i l a s t e r s a t each corner and a pyramidal r o o f capped ni t h the remains o f a weathervane. The be11 was removed from the be l f ry several years ago by the local Masons.

The simple front facade (south) has a double-daored entrance, which i s slightly off-center due to the location o f the interior stair . Flush wood doors replace t h e originals . The east side elevation has a single door entrance, off-center due t o the s t a i r placement, and seven four-over-four double-hung windows. The west elevation i s penetrated on each floor by four equally spaced windows. The rear elevation has two windows on the first f loor .

The i n t e r i o r has pine floors and w a l l s covered w i t h hand-planed horizontal pine boards. Batten ce i 1 i ngs a r e supported by four equally spaced center col mns on each floor. A stairhall I s positioned a t the southwest corner. On the second f loo r , a room o f equal s i z e connects to the s t a i rhal 1 . Batten doors with el 1 iptical peepholes lead from these two rooms to the large lodge hall, a t the no r th end o f which i s located a stage.

8. Significance

Period _ . prehistoric _ 14O&t499 . ._. 1500-1 599 . 1600-1 699 ' _ .. 3700-1799 ._L t so@-1899 .,. 1900-

Areas el Signif ieance--Check and justify below . archeolog y-prehistoric . community planning

_ archeolog y-historic - conservation agriculture _. econornlcs

. -' architecture . . education -

. -ar t engineering - -- -. commerce exploration'oettlement - - .- cornmunitstions industry

_ invention

landscape architecture . .X religion law - science literature . - sculpture milEtary -x social) music humanitarian philosophy .- theater politlcs government - transportation

-- other (specify) - -. - -. - - - - - - . . A - - . . - - . . . . . . - - - - . - - .-..-- -- - - - -

Spatifie dates 1876 . . . -. . - - - - - . - . . . . - . -. . . - Buitder Architect Unknown

. . . . . . . . . . - - . . - . . . - . - - ---------.. , - -

Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) SUMMARY

Constructed i n 1876, the Ye1 1 Masonic Lodge Hal 1 occupies a prorni nen t h i 1 1 t o p s i t e i n the once t h r i v i n g community o f Carrollton. The simple two story building served both as a meeting hall for t h e local Masons as well as a place for church activities. Throughout i t s history the bu i l d i ng has served as a place for local ci t izens to gather, It has served as a community center, church, meeting ha1 1 f o r fraternal bodies, and as a s i t e for pol i t i cal ral 1 ies .

ELABORA? I O N

The comuni ty o f Carroll ton. i n eastern Carroll County was settled circa 1833. Its f i r s t p o s t office was esltab'lished i n 1834. A t i t s full peak o f prosperity i t had an academy, courthouse, j a i 1 , seven general stores, gri s t and flour mi 11 s, cotton g i n , blacksmi t h shop, grade school , three 1 ivery barns, tilo apothecaries , three hoste 1 ri es , two doctors , and a newspaper. I t s decl i ne began about 1869 after Boone County was famed. Shortly thereafter, the county sea t was removed. Possi bly the greatest cause o f Carrol I ton I s demi se was the location o f t h e Saint Louis and North Arkansas R a i 1 road a f e w miles away from t h e town.

Ye1 1 Lodge Number 54 was i n s t i t u t e d a t Carroll t o n on November 10, 1853, The f i r s t o f f i c e r s were: J.F. Seaman, Uorshipful Master; M . Holford, S.W. and A.A. Baker, The o r i g i n a l lodge ha1 l they constructed was destroyed by f ire. It i s s a i d t h a t t h e l o c a l Masons constructed the new lodge ha1 1 themselves.

The move o f t he county s e a t t o Berryvi l l e i n 1875 dealt a 1 arger blow to the community o f Carrol I ton than anyone had suspected. One can only assume t h a t t h e Ye1 1 Lodge Masons were o p t i m i s t i c about the fu ture of their town since they b u i l t t h e i r building one year following the move. Today, i t stands as one o f the feu h i s tori c resources remaining i n t h i s once important comuni t y i n northwest Arkansas.

-

9. ' Major Bibliographical References None

:a1 Data Acreage of nominated ppr~,. ., h q ~ tkan-~ne- Quadrangle name A1 pens 9

Uf M References

1:24,000 Quadrangk scale . - - .-

*/I ,5 I 1 q 7 [ 1 1 1 , 0 14 ,01 1 , 2 1 9 , 6 p 1 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting ,

c w w u u u E l I 111 t l 1 1 1 I I I u F W ud&,,J LlJ-LA c W L 1 JI-I HW U U

-A -- - Vmrbal hundar4 ption and justificattan

N E k o f NU $ o f S e c t i o n 3 3 , T 3 9 N , R 22W ( E a s t e r n District o f Carroll C o u n t y , E a s t + o f L o t 2 0 o f n o w d e f i n c t t o w n o f -Carroll t o n , A r k . ) . +

---- List all ststas and counties lor properties overlapping state or county boundaries

state N/A code county e d e

state code county code

I 1. Form Prepared By

nameititre 0. KluteBraswell ( e d i t e d b y A H P P s t a f f )

orqantxa:jon Carrel 1 CO. H i s tori c Society date l g M

street nurnhr P mo* Box 249 -

telephone nome >

cltr w town Berryvi 1 1 e stale Arkansas

12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated slgnillcance of this property within the state is:

X - national -- state - local

As the designated Stste Historic Preserration Mficer for the National Hfstorlc Preservatton Act of 1966 (Public Law 8% 665), 1 hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has h e n evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set fo the Nat" nal Park Se

C

State Hlstorlc Preservation Officer signature - -- - &=-

title S t a t e H i s t o r i c P r e s e r v a t i o n O f f i c e r t T-z>ep/J For NPS USB only

I hreby certify that this property is Included In the National Register

-, date

K w of The National Register

Attest: date ..-.

Chief of Registration -

$ 1 SCALE 1 23 300 I - - - - - ! 7 3 1 w11:

+ -., J 4 7- 7-- --A ."*,, .. . :m 0 - ,a H

1 , % - Yell Masonic Lodge Carrol I ton

1 i Carroll County, Ark. USGS Quad. - Alpena, Ark. Scale : 1: 24000

ORTH ! EF T H I ~ MAP

UTM References I FOR SALE BY U. S. GEOLOGIC

15 471100/4013020 42

AND BY THE ARKANSF A FOLDER DESCRIBIN

1