SPRINGDALE -- Shiloh Meeting Hall has sat on the same site near downtown Springdale since 1871, and planned renovation could allow it to open again to visitors.
Officials with Shiloh Museum of Ozark History already have finished some renovation to the building and are working on a fundraising strategy for the remaining work, said Allyn Lord, director of the museum. New Era Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows donated the property to the city in 2005.
Shiloh Meeting Hall
• 1871: The building is completed and the Primitive Baptist Church, Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Methodist Episcopal Church and a masonic lodge begin using the property.
• 1910: The masonic lodge moves out of upper level and Missionary Baptist Church begins part-time use of the lower level.
• 1915: Women’s Civic Club moves into the building.
• 1925: Women’s Civic Club leases the upper level.
• 1928: First Christian Church and Baptist Missionary Sunday School Church begin part-time use of the upper level. Women’s Civic Club moves out of the building.
• 1931: Building is seized by the city because of the owners’ failure to pay taxes.
• 1935: The New Era Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows purchases the building from the city and begins using the upper level.
• 1938: A Baptist church leases the first level from the Odd Fellows.
• 2005: Odd Fellows deed the land and building to the city.
Source: Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
The meeting hall sits on Huntsville Avenue, north of the museum at 118 W. Johnson Ave.
The meeting hall is 40 feet tall with white clapboard walls and a gable roof, according to the building's nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places. The building also has a belfry above the ridge line on the west side of the roof.
The building has been known as Shiloh Church and Odd Fellows Lodge over the years, according to the nomination, which was approved in 1975.
The building is surrounded by a green lawn, and Spring Creek and the Razorback Greenway can be seen from at least one window on the upper level.
The first renovation was done between 2007 and 2009, Lord said. Thats included repair to the roof, belfry, chimney, windows and exterior walls. Those cost the museum $195,141.72, of which about 63 percent came from Arkansas Historic Preservation Program grants, about 23 percent came from a Community Development Block Grant Program grant through the city and about 15 percent came from the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History Board.
The interior of the building has wooden floors with linoleum peeling on part of the first level. A dust-covered white piano sits downstairs while a dusty black piano sits on the level above. Dead wasps litter the floor on both levels.
Needed renovation to the interior are estimated to cost $528,558, Lord said. She gave "ballpark estimates" of $75,000 to $100,000 for furnishings and $200,000 for landscaping, parking, lighting and signage. The museum needs to add outside steps to one entryway and a ramp to another.
The museum's Finance Committee will discuss a fundraising strategy at a meeting May 12, said Lord. She said she wants to get the strategy approved by the museum's board at its meeting May 14.
The meeting hall may open to the public in phases before the renovation is complete, Lord said. She said she hopes for the renovation to be completed by the building's 150th anniversary in 2021.
Mayor Doug Sprouse said he thinks the building will play a role in nearby downtown revitalization efforts. There is always a need for event space downtown, he said.
Sprouse also said restoring and preserving the city's history is important.
"It could really be a jewel for Springdale," he said.
In addition to being on the National Register of Historic Places, the meeting hall is also on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places, Lord said.
A historic building is a tangible reminder of the foundations of a city, said Mark Christ, spokesman for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. These structures also have an educational purpose and show how people used to live and build.
"A historic building is really a primary source artifact," he said.
Three churches and a Masonic Lodge originally paid to build the meeting hall, Lord said. The Women's Civic Club also used it in the late 1910s and into the 1920s.
"This is an amazing building," Lord said. "I feel honored every time I'm in here."
The building has been altered many times over the years, Lord said. For example, a window at the foot of the building's staircase was changed to a door at one point so the masons could go from outside to upstairs without intruding on church events on the first level. Museum officials will be able to use the door to enter exhibits upstairs without bothering anyone using the first level.
The main room upstairs has a stage against one wall. A trap door in the stage can be opened to reveal a metal basin underneath. The Odd Fellows used it for ritual baptisms, Lord said.
A room upstairs was used as a closet by the Masons and Odd Fellows and as a kitchen by the Women's Civic Club. At least one coffin the Odd Fellows used in ceremonies sits on a shelf high above.
Sprouse said he remembers the meeting hall being used by the Odd Fellows when he was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. He said he's also seen old renderings of the city that include the building.
"That's your landmark," he said. "You look at that and you know where you're at."
NW News on 05/01/2015