Charles L. Thompson was born in November 1868, the third of James C. and Henrietta Lightner Thompson's seven children. Charles became a draftsman at an Indiana mill, but, dissatisfied, he decided to seek employment elsewhere.
On his way home from New Orleans in 1886, Thompson stopped in Little Rock. He chose to stay here, in part, because there were many opportunities for his architectural expertise. Later, he was quoted as saying that he chose Little Rock because it was "the farthest in the wilderness." Thompson began work for Benjamin J. Bartlett; in 1888, he became an architect and full partner in the firm. In 1890, Bartlett left for Mississippi and the firm became known as Charles L. Thompson, Architect and Superintendent. Throughout the next several decades, Thompson worked by himself and with a variety of partners. Many homes in the historic Quapaw Quarter were designed or modified by Thompson or his firm. His work was not limited to central Arkansas. Carnall Hall at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville (ca. 1900), the Newport Jr. and Sr. High School in Newport (ca. 1930), the Monroe County Courthouse in Clarendon (ca. 1911), and the Charles H. Murphy, Sr. House in El Dorado (ca. 1926) are just a few of Thompson's designs located around the state. Charles L. Thompson retired in 1938. After 20 further years of retirement service to his community, he died in 1959 at age 91.
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The firm started by Bartlett and carried on by Thompson is now known as Cromwell Architects Engineers, located in downtown Little Rock. In 1981, a collection of the firm's architectural drawings, which includes works from various time periods, was donated to the Old State House Museum. In 1982, a thematic nomination of Thompson structures was made to the National Register of Historic Places.
For more information on Charles L. Thompson, see F. Hampton Roy's book Charles L. Thompson and Associates: Arkansas Architects, 1885-1938.
The drawings are not currently on display. They are being digitized so we might make them available online. Many of the drawings can now be viewed by clicking on the eMuseum tab on the left-hand side of this page, selecting "Agree" on the Use Agreement page, then navigating to the Charles Thompson Architectural Drawings.