Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 12/02/20

SUMMARY

Located in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, the W.F. Branch High School served as the center of African-American education in the area for almost fifty years. Its site, at the southern terminus of Clay Street, was the second location to host facilities specifically built as the Newport Colored School. The earliest known structure to be built on the campus was completed in 1924, with subsequent buildings being constructed in the following decades. The greatest period of expansion was seen between 1953 and 1966, during which time the campus took on much of its current arrangement. Due to its inherent and remarkable significance to the African-American community of Newport, the W. F. Branch High School is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A with local significance for its association with African-American education in Newport.

HISTORY OF THE PROPERTY

The earliest mentioning of the town of Newport occurred in 1835, when Rowland Tidwell renewed his ferry license for a crossing of the White River. Despite the reference to a town, at that point, the community was little more than a small collection of houses and a single store beside the river. This began to change two years later, when the military road from Strong’s, an intersection on the Little Rock-Memphis Road, to Batesville was completed through the town. The increase in both land and river traffic that the new road and riverport brought to the area allowed for moderate growth over the following years. However, it was the coming of the railroad that really enabled Newport to expand and become the economic center of the county.[1]

In 1854, the Cairo and Fulton Railroad completed a survey of the most efficient route from St. Louis to Texas through Arkansas. As luck would have it, the fledging community of Newport laid directly in its path. However, given that the town of Jacksonport was the economic center of the county at the time, an offer was made to the city of Jacksonport to slightly alter the best course for the railroad in order to accommodate a stop there, which would have bypassed Newport. Luckily for the landowners in Newport, the town leaders in Jacksonport hedged their bets on the continued prominence of river trade and chose to not pay the extra funding needed to construct the additional mileage of rails. As such, the railroad executives chose the easier route, which went through Newport. However, the outbreak of the Civil War put a pause on the construction of the rail lines for almost twenty years.[2]

During the Civil War, Jackson County, in general, saw very little in the way of military action. It is estimated that roughly 1200 men from Jackson County joined the Confederate forces; however, there were no significant battles in the area, aside from a few minor skirmishes. However, in the years following the war, railroad construction once again resumed. By 1873, the line connecting Newport to St. Louis and Little Rock was completed and new businesses and merchants began to flock to the area. Within the year, ten stores, a carpenter’s shop, and a livery stable had opened in the town. [3]That year also saw the opening of the first post office in Newport.[4]

On July 7, 1875, Newport was officially incorporated as a town. The first municipal election was held later that year.[5]The population of the area continued to grow at an astonishing pace. Census records from 1880 showed Newport’s population to be at 683 people, but this jumped to 1,571 by 1890 with a substantial jump to 2,544 by 1891.[6] That same year, the people of Jackson County also voted to move the county seat from Jacksonport, where it had been since 1853, to Newport.[7] Due to all of the growth in the town, a public school district was created in 1879; however, this was solely for white children at the time.[8]

The economic opportunities in the area attracted people from all over the country, including a significant number of African Americans. The earliest known African-American businessman appeared in Newport in 1875 and was followed by Hipolite Vagner, a barber from New Orleans, in 1877. By the end of the nineteenth century, Newport was home to a number of African-American owned businesses, including groceries, restaurants, and saloons.[9] Because of the increasing population of African-American businessmen and their families, the Newport Colored School was established in 1881, three years after the white school had been established. Classes were initially held at the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and at First Baptist Church, also called St. John Missionary Baptist Church, but were moved in 1884[10] to a building specially constructed for that purpose at 609 Main Street.[11] According to a 1891 article in the Arkansas Gazette, the school was said to be the “finest and best arranged building of its kind north of the Arkansas River.”[12] However, before too long, the student population outgrew the structure, and had to be moved to an existing building located at 201 Arlington. This building was, reportedly, a two-story, four-classroom building with a large auditorium.[13] But, this building also proved too small to suit the long-term needs of the student body.

In 1923, the construction of a new school was begun between Arrington and Clay Streets on Jones Street, which would be the home of the school for the remainder of its existence. [14] The resulting building was a handsome, two and a half story brick Craftsman Style structure, which was completed in 1924. It had four classrooms on both floors, with a wood-burning stove in each. On the front (east side) of the building, there was a gabled porch with square brick columns in the corners and simple, round columns beside the square one. Additionally, the gable had decorative vertical detailing and the building was capped with a hipped roof that had double-window hipped dormers on each side. The building also featured a remarkable number of windows, especially given the period. The front and back had ten four-over-four double-hung windows, with four being on the first floor and six being on the second. Both the north and south sides of the structure had twelve windows of the same size and arrangement as the front and back. In addition to the main building, there were also two, large, multi-person outhouses near the school building on the property.[15]

By 1928, an additional classroom building had been constructed on the campus.[16] Named the Asa Pinkston Hall, after a local citizen who donated $700 towards its construction,[17] the new building was also known as the “high school” building and originally served as additional classroom space. In the early 1940s, two more buildings were added to the campus, in the form of an Industrial Arts, or shop, building and a Home Economic Cottage. This was followed in the late 1940s/early 1950s, by the construction of a new gym and additional classroom building on the campus.[18] Given the design and period in which these buildings were constructed, it is possible that they were part of the New Deal era school buildings that were erected across the state. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this.

On March 15, 1950, there was a groundbreaking ceremony on the campus for a new gymnasium building. Completed by 1951, the new gym was the first structure in what would be become a rather extensive building campaign on the campus in the post-World War II years. The year 1953 saw the completion of the Judson N. Hout Elementary School on the campus. Hout was a former Newport School District Superintendent who was instrumental in securing the funds necessary to construct the new building. The design for the elementary was created by the Jonesboro, Arkansas, firm of Elmer A. Stuck and Associates.

Elmer Axtell Stuck was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on February 2, 1900, and was the son of Elmer Charles Stuck, owner and operator of the Jonesboro Brick Company and the Stuck Lumber Company. Though he had been groomed to take over the family business with his brother Howard, Stuck chose to pursue architecture, graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1924.[19] While Stuck was in school he worked in the offices of William B. Ittner, famous for his public school designs, from 1921 to 1923. After he graduated, he worked in the offices of LaBeaume and Klein in St. Louis, Missouri. However, he returned to Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1926 to open his own practice, which he operated as a solo practice until 1928. From 1928 to 1931, Stuck partnered with notable Arkansas architect John Parks Almand, during which the firm designed the Medical Arts Building in Hot Springs, Arkansas (NR listed 12/1/1978). This was Stuck’s first large-scale design, but others soon followed. In 1931, Stuck left his partnership with Almand and created a new partnership with the Arkansas Modernist Yandell Johnson. This partnership lasted until 1938. During that partnership, Stuck is credited with designing the Craighead County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1934 (NR listed 9/11/1998) and the Earl Bell Community Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1936 (NR listed 1/23/2008). From 1938 to 1949, Stuck once again operated an individual practice, but due to an increase in prominent commissions, Stuck’s practice continued to grow. In 1949, the firm became Elmer Stuck & Associates, which reflected the increase in staff size.[20] However, the firm’s name changed again in late 1960 when Aubrey E. Scott, T. Sidney Frier, and William H. Lane were promoted to named partners, but the name changed again a year later to Stuck, Frier, Lane & Scott, Inc.[21] The mid-century period was an especially prolific period for the firm, which established the firm as the architectural powerhouse in the eastern part of Arkansas. Unfortunately, their success did not last. After ninety-three years of operations, the firm that Elmer Stuck founded closed its doors in mid-2019.

As was typical at the time, the design that the Stuck firm created for the Hout Elementary School was based on the International Style of architecture, which had become popular in the United States in the early 1930s. The name was created and the style first defined when Phillip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock created an exhibition in 1932 at the Museum of Modern Art, which featured photos and drawings of “modern” buildings from 15 countries, including the United States, which exemplified the movement. The exhibition was an effort to raise awareness and increase popularity of the new, “modern” forms of architecture. A book of the same title was published in late 1932 and further elaborated on the concepts and ethos of the exhibition. The term International Style was derived from the idea that a “modern” architecture should not take inspiration from the works and architectural experiments of various styles, architects, countries, and time periods, while also not applying any culturally specific, superficial ornamentation to the exterior. However, the International Style would embrace any localized stylistic variations that were born out of programmatic requirements necessitated by local climate or geography.[22] In this way, the International Style was not a set of architectural rules and stylistic motifs, but rather it was a collection of architectural ideas that embraced contemporary materials and construction practices. Because of this, examples of International Style architecture feature a wide variety of forms, materials, and typologies. The Hout Elementary demonstrated the International Style aesthetic in that it had a lack of ornamentation, large expanses of glazing that were set flush with the exterior plane, and minimal overhangs. Interestingly, the completion of the elementary also marked one of the earliest high-style Modernist buildings to be built in the city of Newport.

It is worth noting that the staff of the school during this period was entirely college educated African-Americans, many of whom were from Arkansas. In 1953, there were four teachers who were graduates of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, being J. N. Alcorn, Gladys D. Mays (Mathematics teacher), Iona J. Oates (Social Studies teacher), and Delma L. Sutton (English teacher). There were also two teachers who were graduates of the Arkansas AM& N College in Pine Bluff, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, being A.V. Smith (Home Economics teacher) and Hoover Williams (Agriculture teacher). Additionally, there was Norman S. Calhoun (Science teacher and coach), who was a graduate from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Mr. Calhoun was also one of two teachers at the school to have master’s degrees, with the other being Mrs. A.V. Smith.[23] While it was not uncommon for the staff of African-American schools to also be African-American, it is interesting that most of them were from Newport who had left the town to pursue their education, in some cases obtaining advanced degrees, then returned to the area to teach. This information also points to the significance of both Philander Smith College and the Arkansas AM & N College in the history of African-American education in Arkansas.

The late 1950s saw a couple of significant changes on the campus of the Newport Colored School. The first to occur was the renaming of the school to the William F. Branch High School, which happened in 1957. Branch was the principal of the school from 1925 until 1948 and had a significant and lasting impression not only on the students and faculty in the area, but also on the campus, as a majority of the structures of the school were constructed under his leadership. The second thing that occurred during this period was a dramatic change to the appearance of the campus. Despite the campus boasting an impressive collection of structures, by the late 1950s, there was once again a need to expanse the facilities. A large addition was constructed on the western end of the elementary around 1960, which provided the much-needed new classroom spaces as well as a new auditorium/cafeteria space. The design of the addition was similar to the original elementary, in that it was designed in the International Style as well, but it employed a prefabricated window panel system which was not seen on the original structure. It is not known who the architect of this addition was or when exactly it was completed. Only that it was in place by 1962.[24] Interestingly, around that same time, the Home Economics Cottage and Industrial Arts buildings were demolished on the campus. Though it is unclear when exactly this occurred, it is known that the buildings were still in use in 1958[25] but that they did not appear on the topographical map for Newport that was created in 1962.[26]

The year 1966 saw the completion of the final structure to be constructed on the campus. It was the W.F. Branch Materials Center on the western end of the Hout Elementary School building. This final piece was designed by the Little Rock firm of Norris J. Sparks and Harold Blackwood. The firm was established in 1962 after the two had left the firm of Smith & Cowling, established by Morris Smith in 1954.[27] Their previous firm had dissolved when Smith retired and instead of staying with either of the successor firms that were created afterwards, being Dan Cowling, architect, and Price Roark, architect, the pair decided to create their own firm. The firm would go on to produce several projects in the state in the following years, including the 1960 Tyler Street Baptist Church Education Building, the 1964 White County Office Building in Searcy, the 1964 Newport High School Music Building, the 1966 Searcy Public Library in Searcy, and the 1966 First Baptist Church and Education Building in Morrilton.[28] It was likely that the commission for the Music Building on the campus of Newport High School was what led to the firm receiving the commission for the Materials Center at W.F. Branch High School.

Like the previous two constructions, the Materials Center addition was designed in the International Style, though it did not use the same prefabricated window system seen on the ca. 1960 addition. Instead, the design mimicked the original Hout Elementary School in its window fenestration but had a flat roof like the ca. 1960 addition. Interestingly, it appears that this addition was originally a separate structure from the remainder of the building, as it was shown detached on the topographical map.[29] However, it eventually had the same breezeway between it and the rest of the structure enclosed at some point.

Four years after the Materials Center was completed, the Newport School District fully integrated and the W.F. Branch High School campus was closed in 1970. Though there were plans to construct a new education complex to accommodate students from both schools, the late 1960s and early 1970s were a period of economic hardship for the Newport area, and the funding for the complex was never obtained. Unfortunately, this meant that the students from W.F. Branch High School had to adopt the school traditions of Newport High School, while their traditions and accomplishments seemingly vanished. Due to a feeling of being undervalued and unrecognized, a series of protests were organized among the former students of W.F. Branch High School. This included many of them not returning to class after lunch on a few occasions and even several of the juniors and seniors withdrawing from school all together. These protests initially led to the cancelation of the Newport High School Prom, but later led to efforts to better ensure participation and recognition of the W.F. Branch High School students in all areas of extracurricular activities at Newport High School in 1971.[30]

In the years after its closure, the campus of W.F. Branch High School sat vacant and used. In 1987, an alumni association for the former students of the school was formed. On Labor Day weekend of the following year, the first reunion of the association was held in Newport.[31] In 2004, an organization known as Brotherhood Unity purchased the campus and renovated it into a community center, which offered programs for school children and provided meals for the impoverished.[32] It is was during their ownership that the current roof was installed, and the original Hout Elementary School wing was sealed off from the remainder of the school. However, the organization could not sustain funding for their programs and the facility’s doors were once again closed. In 2016, the campus was purchased by a local citizen who dreams of rehabilitating the campus and returning it to a useful and significant center of the community once again.[33]

Summary

The William F. Branch High School in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, was the center of African-American education and community from 1924 until 1970 in the area. Due to this, the campus is recognized as being a significant site for the history and culture of the area. However, because of the extreme deterioration of the complex as well as the numerous alterations, most notably being the removal of windows and installation of a metal, gabled roof over much of the building, the property has been determined ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Despite these changes, the history and significance of the property still warrants recognition. As such, it is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A with local significance for its association with the history of African-American education in Newport.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Baker, Russell P. Arkansas Post Offices From Memdag to Norsk: A Historical Directory: 1832-1990. Little Rock: Arkansas Genealogical Society, Inc., 2006.

• “Historical Overview of Newport, Arkansas, 1830-1930.” Found in the files of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

• Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, and Philip Johnson. The International Style. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1966.

• Jackson County Assessor’s Office. “Parcel 013-03040-001” Found at https://www.actdatascout.com/RealProperty/ParcelView. (accessed 12 October 2020)

• Koyl, Goerge S., FAIA, ed. American Architects Directory, 1^st Edition. New York: R.R. Bowker, Company, 1955.

• Koyl, Goerge S., FAIA, ed. American Architects Directory, 2^nd Edition. New York: R.R. Bowker, Company, 1962.

• Mays, Gladys Denson. “A Bit of History.” Found at http://www.wfbranchhisch.org/Branch_History.htm. (accessed on 8 October 2020)

• Morgan, James L. Centennial History of Newport, Arkansas, 1875-1975. Newport, Arkansas: Jackson County Historical Society. 1975.

• National Register and Survey Archives. Found in the files of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

• Newport Colored School Yearbook, 1951. Found at https://jacksonhistory.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Branch-High-School-1951-Yearbook-part-1.pdf. (accessed 9 October 2020)

• Newport Colored School Yearbook, 1953. Found at https://jacksonhistory.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Branch-High-School-1953-Yearbook-part-1.pdf. (accessed on 9 October 2020)

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, 1928. Sheet 14.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, 1896. Sheet 5.

• Trisha. “Education and My Family… W.F. Branch High School.” 29 August 2018. Found at https://journeythroughgenerationsblog.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/education-and-my-family-w-f-branch-high-school/. (accessed 12 October 2020)

• United States Geological Survey. “Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas.” 1962. Found at https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/topoexplorer/index.html. (accessed on 9 October 2020)

• United States Geological Survey. “Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas.” 1981. Found at https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/topoexplorer/index.html. (accessed on 9 October 2020)

• W.F. Branch High School Yearbook, 1958. Found at https://jacksonhistory.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Branch-High-School-1958-Yearbook-part-1.pdf. (accessed on 9 October 2020)

• Wallace, Darby. “W.F. Branch High School.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, 28 May 2010. Found at https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/w-f-branch-high-school-4305/. (accessed 12 October 2020)

• Williams, Callie. “Louis Rudolph and Flossie Belle Ritter House, Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas.” Arkansas Register of Historic Places Registration Form. From the files of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.