ROGERS — An entire book could be written about each of the historic buildings on First Street.

However, for an interesting walking tour down the street, I will relate some of the highlights of the exciting stories of each site. Many of the original buildings still house thriving businesses, but sadly, some of them are gone and only a parking lot remains.

The corner of Walnut and First Street in the building that formerly housed Dixieland Shoes was part of the Opera Block built in 1895. In 1898, H.L. Stroud moved his Citizen's Bank into the building. He sold it in 1909, but the Citizen's Bank did business here until it folded it 1914.

The American National Bank (the forerunner of Arvest) operated here from 1915 until 1937, when it moved down the street to the bank building now occupied by the Rabbit's Lair.

After the banks moved out, the corner was the home of Gray's Grocery, Skelton's Food Center, Hunt's Department Store and Dixieland Shoes.

In the south end of the Dixieland Shoe building, 104 S. First has been the home of H.J. Miller Realty Co., and in the late 1930s, it was the meat market of Gray's Grocery.

From 1958 until the present, it has been Townzen's Barber Shop. Today it is operated by Gary Townzen, a third generation barber. It is the oldest continuously owned family barber shop in Arkansas, in business since the 1930s.

South of Townzen's Barber Shop is Centennial Park, the site of two important structures that burned in 1978.

The House of Fabrics, 108 S. First Street, occupied the site when it burned, but the building was one of the oldest in Rogers, built in 1893. In the early 1900s, it was Park's Dry Goods Store, and later in the 1960s and 1970s it was Russell's 5• & 10• Store.

Russell's was an "L" shaped store that fronted Walnut and First streets, and had the unique distinction of having the address of 108 S. First and 108 W. Walnut.

The other building that burned housed the Sears & Roebuck Store. This structure was built for J.W. Bryant's Hardware, Undertakers and Embalmers business about 1890. Bryant had a booming business in the early 1900s selling Studebaker and other wagons and equipment. He was also the town's only mortician and undertaker until 1912, and serviced the entire area in his horse-drawn ambulance and hearse.

The historic F.Z. Meeks Grocery building built in 1894 at 112 S. First has recently been restored and is currently vacant. It was J.S. Elder's Grocery from 1912-1932. Elder installed modern facilities such as an indoor toilet, elevator and new counters. Later a string of food stores occupied the building including Davidson's Grocery, People's Cash Grocery, White's Food Market and Roper's Food Market.

For a decade in the 1950s and 60s, the store was Oklahoma Tire and Supply Co. Later it was the Bible Book Store and Comics 'N' Stuff.

Next is the famous Bank of Rogers building at 114 S. First Street built by J.R.

Felker in 1905 and designed by A.O. Clarke. At the time, this was Rogers' most beautiful and impressive building.

It was reported to be the first business in Rogers with an indoor bathroom. The Bank of Rogers failed in 1914. Farmers State Bank moved in and conducted business until 1937. Then the American National Bank under the leadership of L.W. Harris and his three sons conducted business here until 1962. One of the most famous occupants of the bank building was Rogers' first radio station, KAMO radio, with famous disc jockeys such as Smokey Dacus, that broadcast from thesecond floor from 1954-1970.

The building was the first home of the Rogers Historical Museum in 1975, and the Daisy Airgun Museum was here from 2000-2004. Today, the historic building is the home of the Rabbit's Lair, a creative fabric and fiber center that specializes in quilting and supplies.

At the same time as the Bank of Rogers was being erected in 1905, J.E. Applegate was building Applegate's Drug Store, also designed by A.O. Clarke, next door at 116 S. First Street. The Applegate family operated the drug store from the time it was built until 1964, when the business became Lewis Drugs. John Lewis was here for 22 years until 1986. In September 1986, Steve and Betty Goodman bought the building, and opened Poor Richard's Gifts and Confectionery and thrived here until they retired in 2005. The drug store is without a doubt the best-preserved building in Rogers with the original 1907 exterior and interior still intact with most of the original fixtures.

To save the famous building and to promote the artists of northwest Arkansas, Clarice Moore and her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Schopp, bought the building and opened Poor Richard's Art in 2007. Today more than 70 talented local artists feature a wide variety of art in the gallery.

Traveling south the next thing that you notice is a space between the buildings fronting First Street. This site was the home of the Rogers Hardware Co., the only wholesale hardware and implement house between Springfield, Mo., and Ft. Smith in 1907. The location later became Linkway Furniture and Hardware, the largest and best hardware store in Rogers from the 1940s until 1960. In 1960, the building burned in Rogers' most disastrous fire up until that time with damages estimated at over $100,000. The Linkway building was not replaced, and today the site is a parking lot.

The Burnham Block builtin 1896 occupies the corner of First and Elm streets and consists of 122 and 124 S. First Street. The south side of the building was first a hardware store, and then it housed the post office, and a bookstore and newsstand. In 1907, it was renovated into the First National Bank, and did business until it closed in 1931.

Later occupants were Martin's Liquor Store, 1939, and Croxdale and Son's IGA Food Store, 1940s and 1950s.

One of the more famous occupants of the north side of the building was the City Meat Market owned by Otis Finn from 1935 into the late 1950s.

Today the store is the home of the Women's Pavilion.

A book could be written about the famous upstairs of the Burnham Block. Today the quaint and delightful Tea Room at Vinson Square occupies the second floor, but in the early 1900s, it was a hotel, and reported to be a lively brothel. The train station was directly across the street, so there were plenty of customers. Since then, there has been many famous occupants including Dr. Rice; Dr. William Curry; Dr. Clyde McNeil;

a newspaper, The Rogers Daily Post in 1910; and more recently The Crumpet Tea Room from 1975 until 2006.

Mary Wohlford reopened the famous tea room in 2008 as the Tea Room at Vinson Square. It is a real pleasure to enjoy a dining experience in the restaurant, and imagine all of the activities that have occurred in the past in the historic rooms.

This short block of First Street provides much history and many fascinating stories, but it is only a small part of the historic downtown. In the future, I will continue the walking tour in another column.

James Hales is a retired homebuilder and historian who has written two books about the history of Rogers.

His latest book, The Fabulous 1960s in Rogers, Arkansas, chronicles the exciting changes that occurred in the decade of the 1960s.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 10/07/2009

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