Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 04/07/99
SUMMARY
As World War II came to a close and soldiers returned home, demand for housing in America's suburban developments exploded. There were a number of undeveloped lots remaining in Justin Matthews’ "Edgemont in Park Hill", first developed as an upper class restricted neighborhood in the late 1920s and interrupted by the Great Depression and World War II. With availability of federal assistance, returning soldiers were able to easily purchase property and construct homes. It was not until the end of World War II that Justin Matthews’ “Edgemont in Park Hill” was fully developed with the construction of ninety-four homes between the years of 1946 and 1953.
ELABORATION
The house at 324 Dooley Road was constructed in 1947 during the post World War II rush of housing construction in America’s suburban developments. Located in North Little Rock's first suburban development, Park Hill, which was begun in 1922, the area had just been annexed to the city. The Park Hill area offered a complete array of services, particularly geared for the young family. Neighborhood groceries, drug stores and other small retail stores offered Park Hill residents conveniences. A movie theater, restaurants, and a number of small neighborhood "pocket parks" as well as an elementary school, churches and a fire department added to the desirability of Park Hill. With the annexation of Park Hill to the City of North Little Rock in 1946, combined with the nationwide increase in housing need, hundreds of homes were constructed on the remaining undeveloped lots in the subdivision.
The Edgemont area of Park Hill was opened in 1927 as a restricted, upper-middle-class section of the popular suburban development. Edgemont was intended to be different from the rest of Park Hill: its main street, Skyline Drive, would curve picturesquely along the crest of a hill, and its houses would be larger and more expensive than others in Park Hill. Sixteen houses were constructed in Edgemont before the Great Depression brought development to a halt. Twelve of these first homes constructed in Edgemont were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 in the Pre-Depression Houses and Outbuidings of "Edgemont in Park Hill" Multiple Property Listing.
When construction in Edgemont resumed after World War II, it was of a much more modest type than the houses built before the Depression. From 1946 to 1953 there were ninety-four homes constructed in the Edgemont area of Park Hill. Most of the homes constructed in this post World War II era are of the Minimal Traditional style, with some featuring indications of early "Ranch" style details such as picture windows.
The first occupant of the house at 324 Dooley Road was the Claude A. Bass family. In 1953, a young businessman name William E. Laman purchased the house. Laman, who is commonly known as “Casey” has born in Jacksonville, Arkansas, in 1912. His family moved to North Little Rock when he was five years old. He attended public schools in North Little Rock and was in the first graduating class of the city’s new senior high school in 1930 (North Little Rock High School NR Listed 1993). Laman graduated from the University of Arkansas before joining the Army Air Corps during World War II. During the war, Laman was a radio operator aboard B-17 aircraft.
Upon returning to North Little Rock at the end of the war, Casey Laman married and began working in his father's furniture store located at 307 Main Street in the city's downtown commercial district. When the elder Mr. Laman (who had been a North Little Rock Alderman for twelve years) retired in 1949, Casey took over management of the business.
Outspoken and opinionated, Casey Laman soon made a name for himself as a civic minded individual. He became active in the public elementary school his daughter attended. His first work with the school was to attend a school board meeting where, after waiting outside the board room until his turn because no one was allowed inside, he requested that a fire escape be installed at his daughter's school. The school board members responded by stating that "only a small percentage of children die in school building fires." Laman, who had only one child, told the school board he, nor any other parent, was not willing to risk that the “small percentage” might include his child. As the discussion at the meeting became more heated, one board member told Laman if he did not like the way the board ran things, he should seek a seat on it. Mr. Laman replied, "Gentlemen, you are looking at your next opponent." In 1953 William F. "Casey" Laman was elected to the North Little Rock School Board. As a member of the school board, Mr. Laman insisted the agendas be published and meetings opened to the public for the first time. He also attempted to increase the female teachers' pay to the same level as male teachers. Laman was not a popular school board member and was asked to resign several times.
Laman's tenure on the North Little Rock School Board was the beginning of a long career in politics. He was appointed to and named the chairman of the first city Airport Commission, was a seven year member of the North Little Rock Library Board, member of the Boys Club Board, Chamber of Commerce Board and was president of the Arkansas Municipal League.
In 1957 William F. "Casey" Laman ran for Mayor of North Little Rock, against an incumbent seeking a third term. Laman was overwhelmingly elected and took office January 1, 1958. An extremely popular mayor, Laman was reelected several times serving from 1958 to 1972. In 1979 Laman was called back to fill the remainder of Mayor Eddie Powell's term after he resigned.
Wm. F. "Casey" Laman ran for mayor because he noticed in his travels while serving in the military during World War II that other cities took for granted things North Little Rock did not have such as a library, a hospital, good drainage and parks. An article in the Arkansas Gazette quoted Laman saying "The 1950s will be interesting, exciting years. I'm glad I'll be living in Them." He was confident that North Little Rock would show enough progress during his years as mayor to rid the city of what he called "the apologetic attitude we have." Laman noted that when he was elected mayor, there was a sign at the city limits, which said, “City Without Bonded Indebtedness.” He stated that the motto should have been "A City Without."
Wm. F. "Casey" Laman is most noted for progress made in North Little Rock. During his years as mayor, the city dramatically changed. Streets yet unpaved were paved, thousands more street lights were added, city services were increased, the first hospital in the city was constructed and the Urban Renewal program created new areas of growth. During Mr. Laman's tenure, the blighted Military Heights area of the city was the site of the city's first Urban Renewal project. A civic center was constructed in the area which contains a Community Center building, police and courts headquarters, post office and public library. Another significant deed by Laman through Urban Renewal was the clean up of the area "behind the seawall" on the bank of the Arkansas River. Here people lived in deplorable conditions, with sub-standard housing and lack of utilities. Laman was also responsible for the development of Burn's Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the nation. He also insisted that housing for the elderly be constructed because he felt "we owed a debt to older people."
One of the most significant leaders in the history of North Little Rock, William F. "Casey" Laman remains active in the city, always on hand to champion what he thinks is right. The house at 324 Dooley Road is the one building in the city which can be long-term associated with Laman. Although he moved to another house in the mid 1970s, his residency in the house at 324 Dooley Road was during the years he served North Little Rock as the city's most progressive mayor.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock). 4 April 1960, 27 July 1960, 25 January 1964, 9 October 1971.
Insurance Maps of Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas. Vol. II. New York: Sanborn Map Co., 1939 and 1947.
Laman, Wm. F. "Casey." North Little Rock, Arkansas, Interviews on the following dates: 20 April 1998 and 18 February 1999.
Little Rock/North Little Rock City Directories; 1914 through 1980.