Stakeholders, Engineers to Discuss Saving Monte Ne

— A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report on the historical value of the remains of the Monte Ne resort and improvements necessary to save the remaining structures is complete and in the hands of the Little Rock corps officials.

Stakeholders interested in saving what’s left of William “Coin” Harvey’s resort, built at the turn of the 20th century, have been waiting on the report since February.

At A Glance

Historic Monte Ne Preservation Partnership

The partnership is a loosely organized group composed of:

-Arkansas Archeological Society

-Arkansas Archeological Survey

-Arkansas Historical Association

-Benton County Historical Preservation Committee

-Benton County Historical Society

-Heritage Trail Partners

-Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas

-Rogers Historical Museum

-Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce

-Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

Source: Staff Report

Corps officials said earlier this week the report should be available to stakeholders before the end of the year.

“We thought we would see the report in September,” said Allyn Lord, director of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. “I’m glad to hear the report will be available to us before the end of the year.”

Rodney Parker, an archeologist with the Little Rock corps office, said the report could be in the hands of stakeholders as early as Dec. 1.

“When we received the report from our Seattle office a few weeks ago, we began reviewing the document,” Parker said.

Little Rock officials asked for a few revisions in the document, which is nearly complete, Parker said.

“After we have a discussion with the stakeholders, we plan to stage a public meeting complete with charts and graphs detailing what we think must be done if there is enough interest in saving the remains of Monte Ne,” Parker said.

The corps doesn’t have the money to raze or repair the resort ruins, Parker said.

“If Monte Ne is to be saved, it will have to be with private funding, not corps money,” he said.

Gaye Bland, director of the Rogers Historical Museum, and Lord are the unofficial leaders of the Historic Monte Ne Preservation Partnership that is working to save the former resort and develop a small park on the site. The members of the partnership are considered the “stakeholders” by those involved in the project.

At A Glance

Monte Ne Resort

William “Coin” Harvey began construction on the Monte Ne resort shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Eventually there were several buildings, including two hotels constructed of logs. The remaining tower was part of the hotel known as the Oklahoma Row. Harvey built an aqueduct to feed a lake and an electric plant to provide electricity to the buildings. A railroad ran from Lowell to a lake on the property, where passengers were then ferried to the hotel by boat.

Source: Shiloh Museum Of Ozark History

“We conducted our own study on the feasibility of raising enough money to preserve Monte Ne and create some walking trails with informational signs telling about the resort,” Bland said. “We are anxious to get together with the other stakeholders to discuss the report and see what the corps report has to say.”

Corps officials and Bland said they want to discuss the report with stakeholders before releasing the information to the public.

“We know we want to preserve Monte Ne, but it comes down to whether we can raise enough money to make the necessary repairs, build a simple park and maintain the park,” Bland said. “Right now, that remains to be seen. We need to review both reports with stakeholders first.”

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