Margaret Oftin remembers walking to the A.R. Carroll Drugstore after school to buy penny candy. She thinks she was about 8 or 9 years old.
Oftin attended all 12 years of school in Cane Hill, a community a few miles south of Lincoln, on Arkansas 45.
Fast Facts
Cane Hill
• Settled in 1827
• Was earliest settlement in Washington County
• Cane Hill was also known as Boonsboro after Daniel Boone
• Cane Hill College admitted women in 1875
• A prominent landmark in the Cane Hill area was the water-powered mill known variously as the Pyeatte-Moore Mill and the Moore-Buchanan Mill
• Cane Hill was the site of a Civil War skirmish nine days before the Battle of Prairie Grove
— Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
Francis Taylor also remembers the business as it existed when he was a boy.
"The drug store part was in the back, and the rest of it had lots of enclosed glass cabinets," Taylor said. He remembers cards that could be punched, and "if you were lucky, you got a candy bar."
The drug store was owned by Johnny and Evelyn Miller. Johnny Miller was a "pretty good math teacher," Taylor recalled.
The A.R. Carroll Drugstore was built in 1900 and served as a drugstore until sometime in the 1930s. It next became the Cane Hill post office and then was an antique store or flea market for a couple of years. After that, it was a barbecue restaurant for several years, then stayed empty and slowly went into disrepair.
This spring, folks from Cane Hill, Lincoln and surrounding communities showed up to celebrate the restoration of the drug store. The building and the grounds were bustling with food, music and lots of people.
"I think it looks nice, very nice," Oftin said.
Another resident, Dwayne Pyeatt, whose great-grandfather was one of the original settlers of the Cane Hill area, said he thinks the restoration is wonderful.
"I love old buildings," Pyeatt said. "I've been fascinated to see them restore this."
The celebration included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, live music by the Flying Buzzards of Crane, Mo., and free hot dogs and hamburgers. The public was invited to eat, enjoy visiting and tour the former drug store.
Bobby Braly, executive director of Historic Cane Hill, said he was pleased with the turnout. Historic Cane Hill plans to restore six historic buildings in Cane Hill. The organization started with the drug store because of its poor condition and historical significance.
The drug store is one of 16 properties in Cane Hill listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only historic building still standing in Cane Hill that represents Victorian architecture. Most of the historic buildings, which are homes owned by individuals, are in good shape.
Braly said the next project will be the Methodist manse built in 1934 as the first Methodist Church.
"Everybody was tickled to see the building," he said, noting it was exciting to see activity going on in Cane Hill.
The restoration included replacing all the windows and installing original-style wood and glass. Workers used a mixture of limestone and sand to create an old-time soft mortar for the outer stone walls.
On the inside, workers replicated a tin ceiling on the first floor and a wood ceiling on the second floor. Hardware, lights and doors were chosen to match the time period of the building. Local art was hung on the walls on the first floor.
Roy Rinehart was a member of the Cane Hill Masonic Lodge, which met on the second floor of the building from 1900 to 1980.
He recalled climbing the steep stairs to the second floor many nights. He said members rode horses from miles away, including Dutch Mills and Evansville, to come to Masonic Lodge meetings.
"This lodge is over a hundred years old," Rinehart said. "The membership just got older, and younger people didn't seem interested."
Cane Hill Masonic Lodge eventually merged with Lincoln Masonic Lodge.
Rinehart is compiling a list of members of the Cane Hill Masonic Lodge for a plaque to be mounted in the building.
Like everyone else there, Rinehart thought the restoration was wonderful.
"They've done a marvelous job of refinishing it," Rinehart said.
Charley Evans served as the Cane Hill postmaster for 40 years before retiring in 2002. He said the post office was located in the front part of the A.R. Carroll Drugstore building around 1965 and moved to its current location in 1983.
His wife, Carole Edwards, also worked in the post office.
"It's been fascinating to watch them do this," she said. "It's been great."
The first floor of the drugstore will serve as a community room for Cane Hill during the restoration of Cane Hill College, which is expected to take several years, Braly said. The upstairs will be offered as studio space for area artists.
Braly's goal is to complete all restoration by 2027, in time for the 200th anniversary of the founding of Cane Hill. Cane Hill, established in 1827, was the first settlement in Washington County.
NAN Life on 07/09/2014