“Preserve Arkansas’s 2022 Most Endangered Places list includes an architecturally significant church at Lonoke, one of the last historic commercial buildings at DeValls Bluff, and an 1850s farmstead in Stone County….

“The Most Endangered Places Program began in 1999 to raise awareness of historically and architecturally significant properties facing threats such as demolition, deterioration, and insensitive development.

“Preserve Arkansas solicited nominations from individuals and organizations throughout the state, and a selection committee of preservation professionals, architects, historians, and Preserve Arkansas members chose properties based on their level of significance, severity of the threat, and level of local support.

The list is updated each year to generate discussions and support for saving the places that matter to Arkansans.

“The Threatened Three” for 2022

First Christian Church, Lonoke (Lonoke County). Designed and built in 1916 by Charles E. Hämm, Sr., with assistance from builder Frank Goodbar, the First Christian Church of Lonoke was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance. The vacant building, now in need of urgent roof repair, is the best example in Lonoke County of a church designed in the Craftsman and Tudor Revival styles. The building is owned by Mr. Hämm’s granddaughter, who grew up in the church and wants to see it restored for community use.

Robinson Building, DeValls Bluff (Prairie County). Constructed in 1913, the two-story Robinson Building anchors the last intact commercial block in the White River town of DeValls Bluff. The building housed the Robinson Mercantile on the first floor and a Masonic Lodge on the second floor. The severely deteriorated building was cleaned and stabilized by Studio DRIFT, but additional resources are needed to reconstruct the building’s roof and interior for use as a multipurpose space that benefits the community.

Newton Sutterfield Farmstead, Alco (Stone County). Located at the community of Alco in western Stone County, the Newton Sutterfield Farmstead was built about 1850 by early settler J. Newton Sutterfield. Although it is now in a decrepit state, the Sutterfield Farmstead illustrates the hardscrabble existence of farmers in the Arkansas Ozarks and stands as an important example of a vernacular Double-Pen House. The current owner would like to see the house restored and used to interpret the area’s early history.