Hudson-Jones House

The Hudson-Jones House is an antebellum home located in the Manchester community east of Arkadelphia (Clark County). It was constructed around 1840, and six outbuildings from the period also exist on the property. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 30, 1982.

The land around Manchester was purchased by the Somerville Land Company in 1836, the same year that Arkansas became a state. The next year, Thomas Hudson, a member of the company, moved to the area. He built a two-story log cabin and began to operate a farm. In 1840, Hudson began construction on a new home. A carpenter known only as Mr. Pryor was hired to lead the construction project.

The house is in an “I” shape and faces south. The center portion of the house is one room deep, two stories tall, and includes a central double front door on a front porch. A matching door is located directly above the main door and is fronted by a small balcony. Each door is flanked by four-paned sidelights on each side and a four-paned transom above. The porch is two stories tall with two columns on each side, topped with a triangular portico. The exterior of the house is covered by weatherboard. The front of the house includes four sets of windows, with two sets located on each floor and on each side of the front porch. Both the east and west ends of the house include an external brick chimney. A one-story addition is present at the rear of the central portion of the house. Another addition constructed to the east of the ell serves as a kitchen. Other architectural details include hipped roof with box cornice and original floorboards, wainscoting, and Greek Revival–style mantels on each of the fireplaces.

The property also includes several outbuildings that directly relate to the history of the property as an agricultural enterprise. These structures include a combination smokehouse and storage facility, a well, and a cellar, as well as a shed. A one-pen log building serves as a hay barn, and the original dogtrot house constructed by Hudson and converted into a barn still stands on the property in the twenty-first century.

Hudson lived on the property until 1859, when he sold it to Nat Kimbrough Jones, who was also a member of the Somerville Land Company. James Kimbrough Jones, the son of Nat, lived in the house from 1859 to 1867 except during his service in the Civil War. Jones later served in the Arkansas Senate and both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. The Hudson and Jones families gave the house its name. The land was sold to the Hunter family in 1909, and it continues to be owned by descendants.

For additional information:
“Hudson-Jones House.” National Register for Historic Places registration form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Office, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/CL0745.nr.pdf (accessed September 17, 2019).

Richter, Wendy, et al. Clark County Arkansas: Past and Present. Arkadelphia, AR: Clark County Historical Association, 1992.

David Sesser
Henderson State University