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| Elliott & Anna Barham House |
ELLIOTT & ANNA BARHAM HOUSE, ZINC, BOONE COUNTY
SUMMARY
The Elliott and Anna Barham House is significant locally under Criterion C as the best example of a Folk Victorian style designed house within the city of Zinc, Arkansas.This one story, rectangular house was built in 1917 and is situated on a steeply sloping hillside with the sides of the home being situated parallel to the ridge of the hill.It has a front facing gabled roof with gingerbread trim on the front porch.There are several concrete and fieldstone buttresses on the lower (south) side of the house to sturdy the building’s foundation. The buttresses are necessary because of the steep hillside on which the house is located. The property around the house contains several tiers of fieldstone rock walls to protect the house and slow erosion on the hillside.
The town of Zinc was a prosperous mining community from the late 1800s until approximately the early 1920s.Elliott Barham’s father, Elias Barham, originally homesteaded the land on which Zinc is located and on which the Elliott and Anna Barham House resides.Elias Barham was a principal founder of the city of Zinc, and he started the Barham Brothers’ Store in Zinc.When Elias died in 1919, Elliott Barham assumed the ownership and responsibility for this store, and he worked in it until his death in 1952.Elliott Barham was also the Zinc Postmaster from 1936 until 1952.The Elliott and Anna Barham House and the home of Elias Barham are the only two houses that survive from Zinc’s heyday. The home of Elias Barham was restored in the early 1980s, but it has since been significantly altered.The Elliott and Anna Barham House has been maintained and preserved by the Barham family descendants to its original style and era, it retains its original architecture and setting, and it is representative of the mining community and style of life that once existed in this area.These features combine to make the Elliott and Anna Barham House locally significant and worthy of National Register listing.
ELABORATION
The Elliott and Anna Barham House was built in 1917.This house has always remained in the family and is now owned by Elliott and Anna’s grandchildren, Anita Gould and Stephen Campbell.
Zinc, Arkansas, is located near the eastern border of BooneCounty near the right of away of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.The Zinc area prospered from the late 1800s until approximately the early 1920s because it was a significant source of mineral deposits.The principal ore was silicate of zinc.It is written that the area produced the best grade of slab zinc that could be smelted from virgin ore.In addition to the mines, the Zinc area also contained an artesian well and numerous springs.During this time, the Zinc area was a community that was home to many people.It had a school, a newspaper, and many businesses including stores and hotels.The Zinc area prospered until the mines closed and the Great Depression occurred.Today, the city of Zinc is still home to several families; however the best part of its history has passed.
Elias Barham, Elliott Barham’s father, originally homesteaded the land on which the town of Zinc is located and on which the Elliott and Anna Barham House is located.On June 8, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison issued Elias 160 acres of original homestead land.The legal description of this homestead land was as follows:
The South West quarter of the North East quarter, the East half of the North West quarter of Section Twenty in Township Nineteen North Range Eighteen West of the fifth principal Meridian in Arkansas (with other lands).
Elias and his wife, Caldonia Magness Barham, built a large, white two story house on this land.A geological survey of 1890 shows a map of the area with only one residence in the valley, and that was their house.
Elias and Caldonia were married on September 9, 1882, in BooneCounty, probably in Pleasant Ridge.He was 23.Caldonia’s father was David Magness, and her mother was Sarah Milum Magness.Caldonia was born on January 7, 1862, in Missouri.Caldonia was the widow of Robert Wills, a tanner who was killed in a hunting accident.She had a small daughter named Ada Wills.Robert, Caldonia, and Ada are listed on the 1880 Census as living in Sugar Loaf Township in BooneCounty.
Elias raised and sold cattle and was a farmer.The zinc mines around what is now the town of Zinc were starting to boom, and Elias operated some of them.Hoping to see the area develop into a town with railroad facilities, on March 20, 1900, Elias sold 60 acres of his homestead land to T.R.Cave.On June 2, 1900, T.R.Cave sold an undivided one half interest in this land to J.L. Rogers.The Township of Zinc included this land, and on February 2, 1901, lots in ZincTown were advertised for sale in the Harrison Daily Times.
On March 7, 1903, T.R.Cave, J.L. Rogers, and their wives entered into an agreement with the White River Railway Company so that the railroad could be established through Zinc and a depot built.This railroad later became a part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
On April 1, 1903, R.X. DeGraw, J.S. Rogers, T.R.Cave, and D.W.Cave invested $50,000 and created and incorporated the Sugar Orchard Mining and Realty Company.The articles of incorporation state that the place of business was to be located in Zinc, and the “general nature of the business proposed to be transacted by this corporation is: to buy, sell, let, lease, handle, and control mining and other lands, including town sites, and the doing of a general real estate business; mining, milling, buying and selling ores or valuable stone of all kinds; erecting, buying, selling, leasing and operating Water Works, telephone exchanges and other business of like character”.
Just a few weeks later on April 23, 1903, T.R.Cave, J.L. Rogers, and their wives sold 120 acres, including the 60 acres previously purchased from Elias and Caldonia Barham, to this newly formed company for $50,000.
On September 30, 1903, Elias purchased 2 lots in ZincTown from the Sugar Orchard Mining and Realty Company.These lots were also originally a part of his homestead.Elias built a general store on it and operated it with his brother George Solomon.It was called the Barham Brothers’ Store.
George Solomon Barham was the father of Ella Barham, who was brutally murdered in November 1912.Odus Davidson was convicted of the crime and was hanged in Harrison in 1913.Odus Davidson was the last man to be legally hanged in Boone County, Arkansas.George and his family lived near Crooked Creek in Pleasant Ridge, near what is now Harmon.George was also a farmer and a stockman, and he may have served as the Judge of the County elections in BlytheTownship.
On January 4, 1904, the town of Zinc was officially incorporated.The legal description of the land includes all of the 60 acres that was originally part of the Elias Barham homestead. The petition was filed with a plat for the town of Zinc and included the names of streets, alleys, and the railroad depot.Petitioners were C.C. Bryant, C.C. Coffey, K.L. Brown, W.J. Wilson, Neal Shirley, T.B. Plymate, D.M. Cochran, J.B. Bogenschutz, J.W. Pickens, J.S. Davidson, E. Barham, E.P. Graves, B.F. Sullens, R.S. Graves, R.S. Modge, J.W. Briggs, M.W. Adair, A.W. Blunt, John Robinson, A. Adams, D.T. Ross, M.L. Johnson, A.H. Roberts, S.E. Lawers, P.A. Johnson, J.F. Bradford, D.W.Cave, and G.W. Taylor.
In 1912, Elias and Caldonia’s house burned.The cause of the fire is unknown.They built a new house on the same location as the old house.This newer house continues to stand today.
Elias was a very industrious and ambitious individual and due to his efforts he obtained considerable wealth.Throughout his life, he continued to raise and sell cattle, farm his land, manage his store in Zinc, and operate many mines in the area.He steadily purchased large quantities of real estate, and he owned a farm in Rally Hill. He died on July 28, 1919, of influenza followed by pleural abscess and traumatic pneumonia.He is buried in DavidsonCemetery.His wife Caldonia continued to live in Zinc in their home until her death on February 2, 1943.She is also buried in DavidsonCemetery.
Elliott Arthur Barham was the oldest son of Elias and Caldonia Barham.Elliott was born on March 6, 1885, probably in what is now the town of Zinc, Arkansas.He lived with his parents in this area in his youth and later may have attended school at ValleySpringsAcademy.
An article written in The Keener Bulletin on July 23, 1903, states “Elliott Barham, the conductor on the Zinc back line is genteel and accommodating.Looks after the wants of his passengers.” By 1910, Elliott Barham was working in his father’s store in Zinc, the Barham Brothers’ Store.When his father died in 1919, Elliott assumed the ownership and all responsibility for the store, and he worked in it for the remainder of his life.Elliott had a gentle, quiet manner and was a good provider for his family.
On July 22, 1915, Elliott married Anna Daisy Orr.He was 30, and she was 20.J.G. Marler, J.P, married them in BooneCounty.Anna’s parents were Brazeal William Orr and Mary Jane Morgan Orr.Anna was born in Lowry, Arkansas, on June 6, 1895.Anna was a woman who possessed a strong, quiet spirit and a deep, unwavering love for her family.She was an excellent seamstress and a very good cook.
The miners in the area often traded at the Barham Brothers’ Store. The miners came in on Saturday night to pay their bill for the previous week and they charged their supplies for the coming week.They came by wagons and horse back from the mines such as Jack Pot and Almy. The miners’ living quarters were very primitive with most of them living in tents near the mines.The store remained open until the miners left to return to their camp.
Elliott sacked and weighed five-pound bags of sugar, beans, flour, and other things. The store also had a variety of goods other than groceries.Elliott sold cosmetics, toiletries, beaded purses, chewing tobacco, shoes that buttoned about the ankle, and shoe buttonhooks.There were bolts of material for shirts and dresses, and wool samples used for ordering men’s suits.People chose the kind of fabric they wanted, and then Elliott measured them and sent their order somewhere to be made.Adjacent to the main store was another room where feed for livestock was kept.
In May of 1917, Elliott purchased several lots that bordered his father’s property from the Sugar Orchard Mining and Realty Company.The lots were in Zinc, and were originally part of his father’s homestead.He and Anna built their home on it and lived in it their entire life (the house and property described is the Elliott and Anna Barham House).
In addition to working in the store, Elliott raised and sold cattle.Like his father, he continued to purchase land in the area. In January of 1936, he became the Postmaster for Zinc.He held that post until January of 1952.Anna assisted Elliott in the daily operations of the Barham Brothers’ Store and the post office.
Elliott and Anna Barham had two daughters.Both were born in their home in Zinc.Geneva May Barham was born on May 15, 1918, and Treva Pauline Barham was born on November 4, 1920.
In the fall of 1951, Elliott became quite ill.He went to the Mayo Clinic for assessment, where he was diagnosed with cancer.He died on March 23, 1952, and was buried in MaplewoodCemetery in Harrison.
Anna continued to live in their home in Zinc.She kept the store and the land that she and Elliott had acquired throughout the years.In her later years, she spent the winter months in Tulsa where she had an apartment and could be close to her daughters and grandchildren.On October 4, 1980, Anna died in Tulsa.She was buried next to her husband in MaplewoodCemetery in Harrison.When Anna died, her daughters inherited their parent’s home in Zinc, the store, and the land.
Geneva May Barham married Joseph McClelland Richards in Tulsa.They had two sons, Joseph McClelland Richards and David Craig Richards.In the early 1980s, Geneva and Joe purchased the home of Elias Barham and completely restored it with the aid of the family.Geneva and Joe spent many years of their lives caring for the Elliott and Anna Barham House, the home of Elias Barham, and Zinc.
When Geneva May Barham Richards died in January 1992, Stephen A. Campbell and Anita L. Gould inherited the Elliott and Anna Barham House.They are the current owners.They are the children of Treva Pauline Barham Campbell.Stephen and Anita have restored the home and have a strong desire to preserve the Barham home, honor the Barham family’s heritage, and to create a remembrance of Zinc’s history.The home of Elias Barham was sold when Geneva died, and its architecture has since been significantly altered.
Treva Pauline Barham, attended school in Zinc through the 10th grade.During her junior year of high school, she attended school in Harrison and lived with Mrs. Theodore Black, who lived across the street from Mr. J. Lloyd Shouse.Treva graduated from PyattHigh School, and then moved to Tulsa to work for her uncle, Dr. John Homer Barham.Dr. John Homer Barham originally had a medical practice in the town of Zinc.Treva met Eugene Arthur Campbell in Tulsa, and they were married on July 20, 1940.They had two children, Stephen Arthur Campbell was born on December 23, 1947, and Anita Louise Campbell Gould was born on November 24, 1956.
The Elliott and Anna Barham House and the home of Elias Barham are the only two houses that remain in Zinc that date to the period in which Zinc thrived.Although the Barham family descendants restored the home of Elias Barham in the early 1980s, it was sold to others in 1992 and since then its architecture has been significantly altered.The Elliott and Anna Barham House has been maintained and preserved by the Barham family descendants to its original style and era, it retains its original architecture and setting, and it is representative of the mining community and style of life that once existed in this area.
SIGNIFICANCE
The Elliott and Anna Barham House has been lovingly restored and serves as a window to the past in the once thriving community of Zinc. Descendents of the Barham family continue to maintain the house and insure its presence for generations to come. The Elliott and Anna Barham House is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C with local significance as the best example of a Folk Victorian style designed house within the city of Zinc, Arkansas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
Ralph R. Rea.BooneCounty and Its People.Van Buren, Arkansas: The Press-Argus, 1955.
Roger V. Logan, Jr.History of Boone County, Arkansas.Paducah, Kentucky:Turner Publishing Company, 1998.
Harrison Daily Times, Harrison, Arkansas newspaper, February 2, 1901.
Keener Bulletin, Keener, Arkansas, July 23, 1903.
Abstracts and land deeds.
Incorporation documents for the town of Zinc, Arkansas.
Postmaster records from the BooneCountyHeritageMuseum in Harrison, Marilyn Smith, Curator, HarrisonArkansas, 2003.
Owner’s personal records from the Barham Brothers’ Store in Zinc, Arkansas.
Census records.
Interviews with Treva Barham Campbell, daughter of Elliott and Anna Barham and mother of current owners, 2003.
Marriage licenses and death certificates.
Owner’s personal records of mining agreements entered into by Elias Barham.
Geological survey of 1890.
Land plat dedicating the streets and alleys of Zinc, Arkansas for public use by the Sugar Orchard Mining and Realty Company and signed by D.W.Cave as Secretary and James L. Rogers as President.
Interviews with personnel at Boone County Abstract and Title in Harrison, Arkansas confirming that the location of Zinc included Elias Barham’s original homestead land.2003.
Receipt from a music company documenting and dating the purchase of the Barham’s player piano, receipt is now in owner’s personal records
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