Stone outbuilding reborn with help of talented stone mason
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Editor's note: Each week this month, The TIMES will feature a piece of the heritage of Pea Ridge. Some information for this article was gained from Billie Jines' article on the house. Jines was the former editor of The TIMES. More than a century ago, Robert Brown built a house for William Miller, known locally as "Uncle Bill. "Built of transitional style, with many characteristics of the Victorian period, the wood-sided house features a wrap-around front porch facing north / northeast. Once, a dirt road passed in front of the house. Known as the Lee Town Road because it connected Lee Town (now encompassed by the Pea Ridge National Military Park ) and Pea Ridge, that road is now paved and travelers pass quickly, hardly aware of the history sitting nearby. Beneath the house lie huge limestone rocks brought to the site from Jacket, Mo., according to Franklin Miller, former owner (and grandson of the builder ) of the house. He said he heard that his father, Bryant Miller (born in 1896 the youngest of 13 children born to William Miller ), helped haul the foundation for the house.
Miller, who lived in the house in the late'40 s and early'50 s and again from 1963 to 1980, said putting in heating and air years ago was "quite a chore "because of the foundation rocks beneath every wall in the house.
Behind the house, on the southwest corner sits a stone building, which was built about 15 years before the house. A smokehouse, the building was used over the years as a butcher shop and meat market.
That building, constructed of rocks and clay, was used to house slaves during the Civil War, Miller said.
David and Gus Bradley bought the house in 2001 and have worked meticulously to restore the house.
"Trying to preserve and keep the character of the home has been our goal," Gus Bradley said, adding that the siding, windows, doors, porches and picket fence have all been reworked.
"It's an ongoing project," Gus said. "There are an awful lot of projects; it's never ending. I absolutely love it !"
The original hardwood still covers the floors.
Bradley said that conversations with local residents revealed that the house was built by Robert Brown. Oak for the house was milled on the property.
The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and signed by then-Gov. Bill Clinton.
Today, the house sits not far from a modern subdivision. The road in front is paved.
A graveled drive circles the front yard bordered by brick and flowers before the picket fence and arch-covered gate which allows entrance to the walk leading to the pedimented portico at the corner of the right-angle porch. Composite columns of limestone bases under tapered classical colonettes support the architecture of the porch.
The three-bedroom, threebath house has three fireplaces as well. The previously clapboard siding has been replaced for more energy-efficiency.
According to Bradley, the house changed hands several times over the years between the Miller family and hers. But, she said she plans to be there forever.
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