Sandra Taylor Smith (1951–2026)

Sandra Taylor Smith was a professional historic preservationist who documented thousands of buildings around the state, wrote dozens of National Register of Historic Places nominations, and was instrumental in the revitalization of the Argenta neighborhood of North Little Rock (Pulaski County).

Sandra Bernice Taylor was born in North Little Rock on January 19, 1951, the daughter of former state representative Hubert Taylor and Vergie Claxton Taylor. After graduating from North Little Rock High School, she attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in history and political science in 1973.

She was the National Register coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program from 1975 to 1979, during which time she wrote some of the earliest nominations for Arkansas properties, including the Mosaic Templars of America headquarters in Little Rock (Pulaski County). She became an independent historic preservation consultant in 1980.

She married Daniel A. Smith on November 19, 1977; they had one daughter, Shelley.

Over the ensuing decades, Smith documented thousands of buildings across Arkansas and wrote sixty-two National Register nominations, including statewide studies of buildings designed by firms associated with architect Charles L. Thompson, post offices with artwork created through the U.S. Treasury Department, and Depression-era structures constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

She wrote National Register nominations for historic districts across Arkansas, including Benton (Saline County), Booneville (Logan County), Conway (Faulkner County), DeWitt (Arkansas County), El Dorado (Union County), Eureka Springs (Caroll County), Fort Smith (Sebastian County), Hamburg (Ashley County), Harrison (Boone County), Heber Springs (Cleburne County), Hot Springs (Garland County), Huntsville (Madison County), Jonesboro (Craighead County), Lake Village (Chicot County), Little Rock, Morrilton (Conway County), Mountain Home (Baxter County), North Little Rock, Osceola (Mississippi County), Piggott (Clay County), Rector (Clay County), Rogers (Benton County), Russellville (Pope County), Texarkana (Miller County), Tyronza (Poinsett County), and West Memphis (Crittenden County).

Smith became chairman of the North Little Rock History Commission in 1992 and documented blighted buildings in the city that were listed on the National Register as the Argenta Historic District in 1993, leading to new development that revitalized the downtown and surrounding neighborhood as the area became eligible for historic preservation tax credits. She wrote the design guidelines to ensure that development followed historic preservation standards for the district, which the city council adopted in 1993. She also wrote design guidelines for historic district commissions in El Dorado, Fort Smith, Helena (Phillips County), Hot Springs, Rogers, Russellville, Texarkana, and Van Buren (Crawford County).

She was active in the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas (now Preserve Arkansas), serving on its board of directors, as well as the Quapaw Quarter Association in Little Rock, the Pulaski County Historical Society (serving as president), and the Friends of the Old Mill. She was also a founding member of the Argenta Community Development Corporation and an ex-officio member of the Argenta Leadership Council. Smith also led the development of the North Little Rock Heritage Center.

She received the Jimmy Strawn Preservation Leadership Award from the Quapaw Quarter Association. In 1999, she became the youngest recipient of Preserve Arkansas’s Parker Westbrook Lifetime Achievement Award.

She retired from the North Little Rock History Commission in 2025. She died on March 12, 2026, after a long battle with cancer. In May 2026, a tree was planted at T. R. Pugh Memorial Park to honor her as part of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Old Mill in North Little Rock.

For additional information:
Ansell, Nathan. “Old Mill Anniversary Celebrated.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 17, 2026, pp. 1B, 4B. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/may/16/old-mill-still-grinding-along-after-50-years-as/ (accessed October 29, 2026).

Nichols, Cheryl Griffith, and Sandra Taylor Smith. Hillcrest: The History and Architectural Heritage of Little Rock’s Streetcar Suburb. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1994. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/programs/publications (accessed October 29, 2026).

Obituary of Sandra Taylor Smith. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 22, 2026, p. 1K. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/obituaries/2026/mar/22/sandra-smith-2026-03-22/ (accessed October 29, 2026).

“Sandra Taylor Smith, North Little Rock Historian, Retires.” NLR Neighborhood News 31, no. 1 (January–February 2026): 1, 8.

Smith, Sandra Taylor. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Arkansas, 1933–1942. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1997. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/programs/publications (accessed October 29, 2026).

———. The Park Hill Historic District, North Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 2000. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/programs/publications (accessed October 29, 2026).

Smith, Sandra Taylor, and Mark K. Christ. Arkansas Post Offices and the Treasury Department’s Section Art Program, 1938–1942. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1999. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/programs/publications (accessed October 29, 2026).

Smith, Sandra Taylor, and Anne Wagner Speed. Little Rock’s Capitol View Neighborhood Historic District. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1998. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/programs/publications (accessed October 29, 2026).

———. Little Rock’s Central High School Neighborhood Historic District. Little Rock: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 1996. Online at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/programs/publications (accessed October 29, 2026).

“Smith-Taylor.” Arkansas Democrat, November 30, 1977, p. 3C.

Mark K. Christ
Little Rock, Arkansas