The Quapaw Quarterly Chronicle, April 2026

The Quapaw Quarter Chronicle

Historic Preservation in Greater Little Rock

Tour of Homes Addition

April 2026

In this addition:

  • Commitee reports

  • Federal Historic Preservation Fund

  • 61st Tour of Homes

  • In Memoriam: John P. Gill and Sandra Taylor Smith

  • Save the Dates

Special thanks to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette for their support of the 61st Tour of Homes

Committee Reports

Advocacy Committee

QQA Travels to Washington D.C. with Arkansas delegation to urge representatives to reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund

Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers hosted over 200 attendees representing 46 states and territories for National Historic Preservation Advocacy week. QQA Executive Director, Morgan Weithman, attended alongside Rachel Patton, Preserve Arkansas Executive Director; Bob Kempkes, Preserve Arkansas board member; and Allison Hellard, Preservation Action. Collectively the delegation met with Arkansas state Representatives and Senators to advocate to reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund and support the HTC-GO Act.

[L-R] Rachel Patton, Preserve Arkansas Executive Director; AR Representative Bruce Westerman; Allison Hellard, Preservation Action; Morgan Weithman, QQA Executive Director; Bob Kempkes, Preserve Arkansas board member

Thank you Representative Bruce Westerman and Senator John Boozman for sitting down and talking with us. Thank you to the congressional staff of Representative French Hill, Representative Rick Crawford, Representative Steve Womack, and Senator Tom Cotton for meeting with us.

Read more about the trip here and here.

QQA joins other community advocates to urge the Capitol Zoning District Commission to uphold guidelines and regulations within the CZDC purview.

On April 16th, the Capitol Zoning District Commission voted against a New Build permit for an empty lot in the SoMa neighborhood, at the corner of 19th and Main. As Little Rock’s primary historic preservation organization, the QQA is committed to ensuring that new development respects and reinforces the established character of historic districts. In reviewing this application, the QQA found that the proposal conflicts with several core requirements within the Capitol Zoning District Commission Master Plan.  

CZDC Zone “O” along Main Street has experienced an erosion of its historic character due to development patterns that prioritized auto-oriented design over traditional urban form. According to the CZDC Guidelines, “These properties do not represent a part of the context that should be repeated in new development.” Buildings set back from the sidewalk with parking in front disrupts the pedestrian experience and weakens the visual continuity that defines this historic commercial corridor. The proposed development repeats these incompatible patterns rather than restoring the traditional Main Street form.  

Education Committee

Education hit the ground running for the first Quarter of 2026!  We started in January with a well attended Preservation Conversation at the Paint Factory on Auxillary Dwelling Units.  Next, we kicked off a brand new program--Get to Know Your Neighborhood PubQuiz--in February at the Elk's Lodge in Argenta. 

We also had our first members only 5H (History, Happy Hour & Heavy Hors d'oeuvres) of the year at the legendary Packet House, home of the 1836 Club.  We've been busy planning more of these programs throughout the year, and are looking forward to partnering with Preserve Arkansas in June on a Little Rock based MidMod Tour! More details later in this addition!

QQA's 61st Tour of Homes: Argenta Historic District

For more than 60 years, the Quapaw Quarter Association (QQA) has championed the preservation and celebration of Greater Little Rock’s historic places by connecting the past and present through advocacy, education, and unforgettable experiences. Among its most beloved traditions is the annual Spring Tour of Homes, and we are delighted to invite you to the 61st Tour of Homes, taking place Mother’s Day weekend, May 9–10, 2026, in the Argenta Historic District.

Thank you to our neighborhood sponsor:

Featured Properties

The 61st Tour of Homes features 12 total properties in the Argenta Historic District. Four are exclusive to Saturday Night’s Candlelight Tour & Dinner. Thank you so much to the homeowners that are opening their doors for us!

Not pictured:

1. E. O. Manees House (Open for Mother’s Day Brunch guests Only)

2.The Sanctuary at Argenta (Open for Candlelight Dinner guests Only)

Candlelight Tour & Dinner Saturday, May 9, 5:00-9:30pm

Ticket holders enjoy a tour of four iconic properties within Argenta, with champagne and appetizers along the way. Enjoy the peaceful front porch and expertly decorated house at 412 W. 5th Street. Experience city skylines from the Argenta Place rooftop. Find a hidden oasis in the heart of the city at the Owen’s Funeral Home. Explore one of Argenta's most legendary examples of historic preservation at The Baker. Dinner is served at The Sanctuary at Argenta.

Tables for this year's Candlelight Dinner seat 8 people. All Candlelight Tour & Dinner tickets include Daytime Ticket access for Saturday and Sunday.

Mother’s Day Brunch Sunday, May 10, 11:00am-1:00pm

Join the QQA and Ease Supper Club at the

E. O. Manees house this Mother's Day for a delectable Brunch.

Brunch guests are invited to arrive on their own time between 11am and noon. Brunch tickets include access to our Tour of Homes Day Tour locations, which include 7 homes in the Argenta Historic District.

Daytime Tours Saturday-Sunday, May 9 and 10, 1:00-5:00pm

Tour 7 unique homes within the Argenta Historic District.

Each home will have volunteer docents, prepared to answer questions about the property and provide historical and architectural information.

Tickets can be used on Saturday and Sunday.


Thank you to our 2026 Street Sponsors:

In Memoriam.

Sandra Taylor Smith


Sandra Taylor Smith was the power house historian behind the Argenta Historic District. In the midst of Urban Renewal’s heavy slate of destruction across the downtown area of Little Rock and North Little Rock, Sandra Taylor Smith researched the Argenta neighborhood. She compiled the stories and the architectural interest and fought for the Historic district to include both residential and commercial structures. Argenta became the state’s first working-class historic district. Argenta was listed on the National Register as a historic district in 1993. It included 258 residential and commercial properties.

The Argenta district was the first non-contiguous district in the state with both a residential and a separate commercial sector. Legislation written by Sandra was adopted by the City Council to make Argenta a local ordinance district. This required the formation of a Historic District Commission which would have to review and approve any major exterior changes to the contributing structures in the district.  

Among her list of services as a historian, Sandra Taylor Smith presented the National Trust of Historic Places nominations for sixty-two nominated sites across Arkansas.

From 1975 to 1979 Sandra was the National Register Coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. She has been a Preservation Consultant since 1980 and was the Director of the North Little History Commission and the North Little Rock Historic District Commission from 1992 to 2025. Sandra was a founding board member of the Argenta Community Development Corporation and a member of the Main Street Argenta Design Committee from 1995 to 2002. She drafted the ordinance establishing the Argenta Local Ordinance Historic District which was approved by the City Council in 1993, and she wrote the design guidelines for that district. She also authored design guidelines for historic districts in Fort Smith, Helena, Van Buren, Rogers, Hot Springs, Texarkana, and Russellville, and El Dorado.  

Sandra was awarded the Quapaw Quarter Association’s Jimmy Strawn Preservation Leadership Award and Preserve Arkansas’s Parker Westbrook Lifetime Achievement Award. She served on the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Alliance, volunteered as a tour guide for the Quapaw Quarter Association Tour of Homes, Co-Chaired the QQA Christmas Potpourri Tour, was an Ex-Officio Board Member of the Argenta Leadership Council, served as President of the Pulaski County Historical Society Board of Directors, and was a Board of Directors member of the Friends of the Old Mill.  

If you look at historic preservation efforts across our entire state, you will find Sandra Taylor Smith’s fingerprints on many of them. Her efforts not only started the rehabilitation of the Argenta neighborhood in North Little Rock, but has affected neighborhoods throughout Arkansas.

John Gill


John Gill was the founding member of the Friends of Curran Hall group (now known as the Little Rock Visitors Foundation) and was responsible for the continued existence of the restored 1842 building. John led the campaign to raise funds for restoration; he initiated the concepts of heritage gardens to surround the building and attract visitors. John and and his wife Marjem became Master Gardeners to help nurture the historically styled gardens that Curran Hall is now known for.

John Gill engaged Becky Thompson to design the gardens, and labored faithfully for years in them. John repeatedly worked to assure the viability of Curran Hall as the Visitor Information Center, cooperating with LR Convention and Visitors Bureau. In 2011, John Gill received the Quapaw Quarter Association’s Jimmy Strawn Preservation Leadership Award.

“The late John Gill was a force to be reckoned with during the renovation of Historic Curran Hall. Curran Hall is now Little Rock’s official visitor information center. However, without John’s almost daily visits during the renovation, Curran Hall might not have become the historic icon that it is today. In addition to John’s interest in Arkansas History, he and his wife, Marjem, planted and harvested the beautiful hyacinth vines that cover the fencing on the south side of the Curran Hall property. Any time Curran Hall’s history is discussed, John Gill’s involvement and leadership should be part of the discussion.” - Barry Travis, retired CEO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau after 35 years and currently a Visitor Information Specialist at Curran Hall.

Remember John as you plant & harvest Hyacinth Bean Vine and prune the Cherokee Rose and keep telling the stories associated with the native and heirloom plants you’ll find in the gardens.