Alderson-Coston House

The Alderson-Coston House is a one-and-a-half-story Craftsman-style home located on Pine Bluff Street in Malvern (Hot Spring County). Constructed in 1923, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 26, 1995. The house is located in the Pine Bluff Street National Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

James Alderson was a businessman in Hot Spring County in the early twentieth century. The owner of the Malvern Meteor newspaper, he later served as postmaster of Malvern from 1934 to 1954. He was married to Lethe Alderson, who was active in a number of community organizations and served on the board of the Hot Spring County Library. The Aldersons bought the lot on Pine Bluff Street and began construction on the home in 1923.

The house faces Pine Bluff Street to the south. The house is covered in wood siding and fronted by a porch, which includes two brick columns that support a gable that has a Craftsman-style window with nine lights. A brick balustrade topped with concrete is on the front of the porch, extending from the east side to directly in front of the door, which is accessed by a set of concrete steps. Five windows are located on the front of the home, with a double set of nine-over-one windows to the right of the central front door and a set of three nine-over-one windows to the left of the door.

The east end of the house includes a drive-through carport supported by two brick columns. The gabled roof over the carport connects to the gable over the central portion of the home and is flush with the front edge of the roof.

A garage is also on the property to the northeast of the home. A weatherboard-clad shed addition with a gable roof is attached on the east side. A fieldstone chimney is on the northern side of the garage, and additional fieldstones were used to create an oven and cooking surface attached to the chimney. Fieldstones surround the chimney to create a seating area, and the work dates to around July 1937. Other structures around the house include a low fieldstone wall, a pond and waterfall, and a birdbath. These structures date to the mid-to-late 1930s.

James Alderson died on July 31, 1958, and Lethe Alderson lived in the home until her death on January 15, 1982. Later that year, the home was purchased by the Coston family, who led efforts to preserve the home and the residential area around it. They sold the house in 1993. The home was purchased again in 1995 to be used as a residence.

For additional information:
“Alderson-Coston House.” National Register of Historic Places registration form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Office, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-historic-preservation-program (accessed May 16, 2024).

“Pine Bluff Street Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places registration form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Office, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-historic-preservation-program (accessed May 16, 2024).

David Sesser
Henderson State University