National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form
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Form No. 10-306 (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY--NOMINATION FORM FOR FEDERAL PROPERTIES SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS __________TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS_____ NAME / HISTORIC Big Buffalo Valley Historic District_____________________________ AND/OR COMMON Boxley Valley Historic District _________________________ STREET & NUMBER Buffalo National River _NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Arkansas VICINITY OF Ponca Newton___________ 03 STATE CODE COUNTY CODE CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE ^DISTRICT —PUBLIC JfocCUPIED X.AGRICULTURE —MUSEUM _BUILDING(S) —PRIVATE -^UNOCCUPIED —COMMERCIAL X_PARK —STRUCTURE X.BOTH -WORK IN PROGRESS —EDUCATIONAL JL-PRIVATE RESIDENCE —SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE —ENTERTAINMENT X-RELIGIOUS —OBJECT X_IN PROCESS -XYES: RESTRICTED X-GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC X__Landscape X_BEING CONSIDERED -XYES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION -NO —MILITARY —OTHER: AGENCY REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS: Wapplicable) National Park S ervir.e -plna Var-fmia Private Owners (See attached list) STREET & NUMBER P.O. BOX 1173 Arkansas CITY.TOWN STATE Harrison VICINITY OF Arkansas ^LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEDS. ETC. Headquarters, Buffalo National River STREET 8t NUMBER P. 0. BOX 1173 CITY, TOWN STATE Hfl.rrrt.fl on Arkansas TITLE List of Classified Structures/Historic Site Survey Boxley Valley/Buffalo National River DATE X.FEDERAL —STATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS Southwes t Regional Office (National Park Service) CITY, TOWN STATE Santa Fe New Mexico DESCRIPTION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE X-UNALTERED X-ORIGINALSITE X-ALTERED X-.MOVED HATF 1840-Present DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The Buffalo River flows eastward through the heartland of the Ozarks and is one of the region's finest natural rivers. It traverses northwestern Arkansas across Newton, Searcy, and Marion counties before joining the White River near Buffalo City. The three counties adjacent to the Buffalo River are rural and sparsely settled. The first 16 miles of the river lie within the Ozark National Forest, which contains the headwaters of the Buffalo's major tributary streams. The remaining 132 miles of the Buffalo River and over 90,000 acres of adjacent land constitute the Buffalo National River managed by the National Park Service (NFS). The parks major resource is the clean, free-flowing river that provides opportunity for pleasurable boating, swinging,, an,d fishing.. B,uf£alp: Natiqnal<River -cojitaiirvs .signif ica-nt- natural and- cultural re^ourjCes;. ^eluding, geologic,, vegetation, .wildlife> .rpreh-ist-orio.-, and historic features.. .The .river ,bjasjin consists ma-inly .of lo.w quality agricultural » land. Sparse bottomland and upland ridges confines the cleared acreage. These open fields are used primarily to graze cattle and raise hay. The land does not produce sufficient income to sustain a large population, and there is little industry. In the early 20th century, the forests were cut, but have regrown since that time. The Boxley Valley contains roughly 8,000 acres in the upper portion of Buffalo National River. It averages about two miles wide from the boundary on one side to the other and is approximately seven miles long. The boundaries follow section lines approximating the valley width, The valley floor is 1,000-3,000 feet wide, averag ing about 1,500 feet across. It contains about 1,500 acres of bottomland terrain, and about 1,500 acres of upland lands are in slopes gentle enough for agricultural uses. The valley provides a rural cultural landscape of agricultural lands, forested bluffs and side slopes, scattered single family dwellings, barns, outbuildings, church, grocery store (nonoperating), community hall, and grist mill (nonoperating). (There are several viewpoints located along Highway 43 where motorists may get characteristic views of the Boxley Valley, See attached Viewpoint Map.) The characteristics of its evolving agricultural pattern are similar-sized farm plots of open space subdivided by either boards, wire, and stone fences or hedges contiguous to each other. These farm plots form a linear pattern bounded by the river and the road on one side and steep slopes and forested mountain uplands on the other side. Low upland benches and mountain tops with less severe slopes remain open for cattle grazing. Two arteries, one natural and one man-made, form the backbone of the linear development: the Buffalo River and Highway 43. Most developed land use occurs on the valley floor where building sites form clusters. Each cluster include several agricultural structures, barn, and residence. Twenty residential structures in the valley remain occupied while 30 more are vacant. In addition, there are about 200 related structures, a church, a former schoolhouse, two community buildings, former stores, and two mills. Some of these are vacant and unused. Historically, the principal cash crop was livestock, primarily cattle, and today, the largest single land use in the valley remain agricultural hay and pasture Form No 10-300a (Rev 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR NFS USE ONIY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RECEIVED JAM 4 1987 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER PAGE PRIVATE LANDS SCENIC EASEMENTS (No federal interest) TRACT NO. OWNER/ADDRESS TRACT NO. OWNER/ADDRESS 61-113,122 Hubert Ferguson 20-111 W. F. Connell Boxley Route Supt., Payetteville Dist, Harrison, AR 72601 United Methodist Church North Ark. Conference 61-119 Bill Duty P. 0. Drawer L Ponca, AR 72670 Fayetteville, AR 72701 Or possibly: 62-113 Troy Fowler, Jr. Kenneth Villines Boxley Route (Appointed Caretaker) Harrison, AR 72601 Compton, AR 72624 63-121 63-100 Claude or Clyde Clark Kingston, AR 72742 64-102 Roger T. Eubank Ponca, AR 72670 or: Ji Kebon Sirih 52 63-106 Boxley Baptist Church Jakarta, Indonesia Or: Church of Walnut Grove Mrs. Charles (Mary Lynn) Emmett 64-109 Boxley Route Harrison, AR 72601 Form No 10-300a (Rev 10-74) UN1TLD STATES DEPARTMENT OF THhlNTbRlOR FOR NFS USE ONLY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RECEIVED JAN I 4 I98T NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM DATE ENTERED CONTINUATION SHEET________________ITEM NUMBER y PAGE g______________________ (grazing) land. Grazing traditionally occurs only on hillside fields. The only lands strictly used for haying are NFS-managed lands under special-use permits. There are five hay land permits for a total of about 150 acres. Traditional grazing practices under scenic easements with the NFS account for the rest of the permits. Other than restrictions imposed by the NFS land acquisition program, there are no controls on land use in Boxley Valley. The National Park Service conducted a survey and evaluation of the cultural values of the valley's farmlands, buildings, and other features. The survey assigned a building number to each structure based on a system adapted from Robert Melnick's earlier work in Boxley (see bibliography). This system placed each structure in one of five categories of historic/architectural significance (see Appendix 1 for additional information). Structures with NFS legal interest and that are considered to be culturally significant are designated in category 1, 2, or 3. The structure in these categories are entered on the NFS List of Classified Structures. Structures of category 1 or 2 contribute to the values of the historic district and are there fore specifically acknowledged in the National Register of Historic Places form. The five significance categories used in the survey are defined as follows: 1. historic structures of individual outstanding architectural and/or historical value and that make an important contribution to the skeletal pattern of the Boxley Valley Historic District; 2. historic structures at least 50 years old that do not possess individually outstanding or unique characteristics but do contribute to the architec tural and/or historic character of the district. These structures retain cultural distinctions and are consistent with the local building traditions in terms of scale, style, material, setting, and form; 3. structures less than 50 years old that may not possess individually out standing or unique characteristics but do contribute to the continuum of architectural and/or historic character of the district. These structures retain cultural distinctions, are consistent with the local building traditions in terms of scale, style, material, setting, and form and will be managed the same as if category 2. (In time these structures will be 50 years old and should be considered for reclassification to category 1 or 2.) 4. non-historic structures of no architectural significance, possessing modern materials (post World War II) or commonplace suburban characteristics, but serve as the spatial envelopes for living socio-cultural functions. If these structures are not in continuing use, they may fall into the fifth category; and 5. structures that are intrusions; that is, modern structures that do not contribute to the district's historic scene. An intrusion is a structure that detracts from those qualities, tangible and intangible, that make Boxley Valley eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Form No 10-3003 (Rev 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT Oh THE INTERIOR FOR NFS US€ ONLY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RECEIVED I 4 1987 NATIONAL