A nose for news?

Allsop had interesting career in the papers

My friend Charlie Crow of Little Rock recently gave me a copy of The Poets and Poetry of Arkansas by Fred W. Allsopp. Published in 1933, this little book reminded me that Allsopp is an interesting figure in Arkansas history -- even though he has been mostly lost to public memory. Although primarily known as a pioneering journalist and part owner of the Arkansas Gazette, Allsopp was a man of myriad interests. By the time he died in 1946 at age 78, Allsopp had not only been associated with the Gazette since he was a mere lad of 18, but he also had established a hotel, started a long-lived bookstore and written books ranging from a biography of Albert Pike to a two-volume Folklore of Romantic Arkansas.

Frederick William Allsopp was born June 25, 1867, in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England. His family immigrated to the United States when Frederick was 12, settling at Prescott, the county seat of Nevada County.

While still a boy, Allsopp went to work as a typesetter for the weekly Nevada County Picayune. In 1884, at the age of 17, he moved to Little Rock and went to work in the Arkansas Gazette mailroom. Before long, he was writing copy as well as helping with business operations. He transferred to the news department, but according to Dennis Schick, the author of the entry on Allsopp in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, the young journalist "had several bad reporting experiences and decided that he did not have a 'nose for news.'" Later, he concluded a poem with "...he who pines to join the press/a news proboscis must possess."

Allsopp returned to the business department, where he would spend the remainder of his long career. And, it was a career full of twists, turns, and no small advancement. Ultimately, Allsopp became business manager and part owner.

In 1896 James Newton Smithee, the founder and former editor of the Arkansas Democrat, became editor of the Gazette -- ushering in a period of considerable controversy. Smithee, who was as opinionated and confrontational as the more recent John Robert Starr, did not hesitate to lambaste elected officials.

Allsopp was present in 1897 when Smithee's editorials resulted in a violent confrontation. Late in his life, Allsopp recalled: "Senator R.D. McMullen, of Yell County, was particularly called to account by the editor. Day after day Smithee fired hot shot at the solons. Senator McMullen was goaded to make a show of resentment. He called at the office, and, with a cocked revolver in his hand, demanded an apology from Smithee -- who replied that he had none to make. The writer was present, and from behind ... caught [McMullen's] hands as he was about to fire, causing the bullet to miss its aim perhaps ..."

Allsopp recalled that Smithee "showed remarkable nerve, never flinching or showing the slightest perturbation." Allsopp did not mention that in 1878, in a reversal of roles, Smithee had fought a duel with the editor of the Arkansas Gazette.

One could argue that Fred Allsopp's greatest contribution to Arkansas journalism was his encyclopedic history of Arkansas newspapers, History of the Arkansas Press for a Hundred Years and More (1922). In 684 pages Allsopp provided a concise but interesting history of every known newspaper previously published in the state.

In the introduction to his history, Allsopp made clear his belief that newspapers -- and the men and women who produce them -- are often taken for granted. He wrote: "The doctor passes away, and leaves no written record of his misdeeds. When he loses a patient, he seldom even goes to his funeral. The lawyer leaves no record, except in a few printed speeches, some briefs, or the court records, which few people have access to. But the work of the newspaper man lives after him in the printed page, although that is often the only memorial he gets."

In 1922, the same year he published his History of the Arkansas Press, Allsopp also brought out a charming little memoir of his own life in newspaper work, Little Adventures in Newspaperdom.

Allsopp also had many adventures outside newspapers. In 1914 he opened the Hotel Freiderica in Little Rock, one of the two oldest surviving hotels in the capital city. Allsopp's financial success allowed him to fulfill his desire to open a classy hotel -- and he wanted it on the "outskirts" of the business district.

Situated at Fifth (now Capitol Ave.) and Gaines Streets, the hotel was designed by Little Rock architect Theodore M. Sanders and named for Mrs. Allsopp, Mary Freiderica Chapple Allsopp. The hotel has been owned by a variety of investors in the past 104 years, including Sam and Henryetta Peck -- who changed the name to Hotel Sam Peck. Winthrop Rockefeller lived at the Sam Peck during 1953-1955 while building his home and ranch atop Petit Jean Mountain. In recent years the hotel has been bought by a number of Indian-Americans and its original name restored.

Many Arkansans will recall the Allsopp & Chapple Bookstore located on Main Street in Little Rock. The bookstore, which Allsopp opened around 1900 in partnership with one of his wife's relatives, James Chapple, was sold in 1919, but the store prospered for generations into the 1960s.

Fred Allsopp developed a deep interest in collecting rare books and papers, and he had the resources to assemble a huge and valuable collection. While the collection contained many early books on Arkansas, the titles ranged from William Shakespeare (Folios 1623, 1632, 1664, 1685) to Mark Twain (57 signed letters and postcards sent to his agent). Allsopp's copy of Dante's Inferno was previously owned by poet John Keats. Following his death in 1946, Allsopp's book collection was sold in three large consignments by Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York.

Allsopp Park in Little Rock's Hillcrest neighborhood is a reminder of this quite remarkable newspaperman.

Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. Email him at [email protected].

NAN Profiles on 07/15/2018

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