Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 04/07/21

Summary

The Fairview High School Gymnasium is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places with local significance under Criterion A for its association with education in the Fairview and Camden communities.  It is also being listed under Criterion C as a good example of the use of Colonial Revival style of architecture in public buildings in Camden.  Although alterations to the building, specifically the removal of the classroom wing, make it not eligible for the National Register, it is still a significant building in the Fairview area and eligible for the Arkansas Register.

Elaboration

Ouachita County was created on November 29, 1842, with a bill in the Fourth Legislature that was signed by Governor Archibald Yell.  The county was formed from land that was taken from the northwest part of Union County.  After the formation of the county, the next task was to select a location for the county seat, and Ecore a Fabre was chosen although it was renamed Camden after Camden, South Carolina.  Camden grew quickly because of its location on the Ouachita River.  As was noted in the Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas in 1890:

Down to the present decade Camden and Ouachita Counties were practically one, and served as a depot of supplies for nearly a score of counties of Southern Arkansas, whose cotton bales lined all the streets leading to the wharf in thick procession.  There is no doubt that Camden has always been by far the greatest cotton mart in Southern Arkansas, and so formidable was her position that previous to the present decade there were really no other towns in the county.  This natural position of course will not be changed, and what is more, it has attracted the railways, so that in that respect her future prosperity seems more assured even than her past.[1]

From the nineteenth century on, education had a place in daily life in Ouachita County, and it was no different in Camden.  In addition, at least by the latter half of the century, education was not just limited to whites, and African Americans also had a role in education in the county.  According to Goodspeed:

The public schools have grown slowly, but of late years have made marked improvement.  Camden has seven white and three colored teachers.  …  For the year ending June 30, 1888, the enumeration was 2,860 white and 2,759 colored children, making a total of 5,119, an increase of 327 over 1887.  In fifty-one school districts, from thirty-seven of which there were no reports, there were 1,431 white and 1,234 colored children taught, an aggregate of 2,665.[2]

Fairview School District was first discussed in 1916 when the smaller communities east and south of Camden sought a district large enough to provide high school education to their children.  Nothing, however, came of these discussions until 1925.  After a series of meetings in 1925, one with congressman Tillman Parks and Hot Springs Schools Superintendent Ury McKenzie, the school districts of Rogers, Finn, Lafayette, and Champion Hill merged into one school district.  The primary goal of this district was to provide high school education for the communities’ students.[3]

The new school district was given ten acres of land by Judge Frank Tate and Will Fearing.[4]  On this ten acres they built a six room school with auditorium.  The school, which cost approximately $20,000, was completed by J. H. Jeffus and J. W. Sims in October 1926.  The school was named Fairview because of the picturesque location of the school.[5]

By the time the school was opened the area was quickly becoming more and more urban.  Cotton mills, sawmills, and a Dairy in the area all were enjoying brisk business.  In 1927, International Paper built their newest and most modern paper plant in Cullendale about one mile to the north and east of the Fairview School.  With the construction of the plant the company also built a series of employee housing.  This greatly increased the population of the school district.  After surviving the Great Depression the school district determined it was time to expand to meet the growth of the school and the community.  In 1935, the people of the county and these communities voted to increase their property tax by 2.5 mils to make improvements to the Fairview School.[6]

Though the community voted to increase their taxes the total cost of improvements exceeded what the local government could afford, and they petitioned the Public Works Administration for funding.  The funding contract for the gymnasium project, PWA 1034R, was signed on 21 January 1935.  The project was to receive $64,000 in loan money and $52,364 in grant money for $116,364 of the estimated total cost of $116,566.  Construction began 18 April 1936 and was completed 22 May 1937.  Final construction costs for the building were $128,000.[7]

Little Rock architect A. N. McAninch designed the Colonial Revival style gymnasium.  McAninch designed many buildings for PWA contracts.  Interestingly, many of his buildings were designed in the Art Deco style, including the Hempstead County Courthouse (NR listed 5/19/1994), Rison High School (demolished), Eudora City Hall (NR listed 10/05/2006) and St. Anthony’s Hospital in Morrilton, which was originally intended to be a PWA project (NR listed 3/28/1986).  Though he predominately used the Art Deco style, he also designed the Gothic Revival style First Baptist Church in Little Rock (NR listed 8/9/1994) and the Collegiate Gothic style Men’s Gymnasium at the University of Arkansas (NR listed 9/4/1992).

The Fairview Gymnasium was the finest high school gymnasium in the state when it was completed in 1937.  It was the only school gymnasium in the state with an indoor pool.  The Fairview School District was the first rural school district in the state with a physical education program; a program that would not have been available without the construction of the gymnasium.[8]

The city of Cullendale was annexed into the city of Camden in 1956.[9]  This annexation created a heated rivalry between the two schools almost overnight.[10]  On October 16, 1990, a desegregation lawsuit forced the Camden and Fairview school districts to form one district and a new High School building was constructed to hold the combined districts.  The old Fairview High School was torn down c.2001 leaving only the gymnasium and a classroom building which was attached to the gymnasium by a second story walkway.  The gymnasium was used by the Camden Fairview School District’s Gymnastics program from 1993 to 2001.  It was deeded to the City of Camden for use by the Boys and Girls club in September of 2001 and later deeded to the Boys and Girls Club of Ouachita County in July of 2014.

In 2007 an effort was started to restore the historic building by Fairview Alumni.  Unfortunately, because the original plans were unavailable and because the classroom building on the back of the gymnasium was different architecturally from the rest of the building, the committee assumed it was a later addition and removed it along with other later additions. Their goal was to restore the Gymnasium to its original structure and change the scope of the restoration effort.  This first effort faltered and in 2009 the building was in danger of being razed and another effort was organized.  This effort had much better results and today the building is a functioning event center. The building was cleaned and water issues addressed.  Rodney Parham, an alumni and architect with Polk Stanley and Wilcox, developed a restoration plan and work to save the Gym was begun.  A grant was obtained to replace the roof and repair the gutter system.  Every window was removed, glass replaced, re-glazed, painted and put back into place; this work was done by volunteers under the direction of a carpenter.  Flooring was repaired and plans are in place to replace damaged sections.  Lighting was replaced with new LED fixtures.   Restrooms were repaired and plumbing that had collapsed was replaced.  Fire codes were addressed and work was done to make the building accessible in case of emergencies.  Doors were restored or replaced. The entire inside of the building and exterior was painted. New central heat and air was installed in 2020, making the center usable year around.  Acoustical tiles were added to help with the sound issues.  Today the much-loved building is used extensively for events and meetings because social distancing guidelines are easy to adhere to.  The state extension service even approved it for a meeting place for the county Master Gardeners organization.  Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak the Gym was the location for reunions, auctions, Special Camark Pottery sales, summer arts programs for children and even weddings and funerals. The community support has been phenomenal, and except for the grant for the roof replacement all the work has been funded by supporters and fundraisers.

Statement of Significance

The Fairview High School Gymnasium is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places with local significance under Criterion A for its association with education in the Fairview and Camden communities.  It is also being listed under Criterion C as a good example of the use of Colonial Revival style of architecture in public buildings in Camden.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas.  Chicago:  The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1890.

Fairview Bicentennial Committee. History of the Fairview District 1916-1976 (n.p.: privately printed, n.d.)

Fairview Gym Preservation Committee. A Taste of “Old FHS” A Collection of Recipes by Former Students of

Fairview Schools and their Family Members (n.p.: privately printed, n.d.)

Information on Cullendale, Arkansas.  Found at: http://www.ouachitacountyhistoricalsociety.org/uploads/3/4/6/4/34649652/cullendale2.pdf/.

The Journal of Arkansas Education Vol XI, No. 5, February 1933 “Fairview School, Ouachita County.”