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UDC members and Confederate veterans at the Old State House |
When the legislature convened in 1911, it did so in the new State Capitol. Despite the fact that most of the state agencies which remained at the State House were to follow the legislature to the new capitol within a year, preservationists were unable to persuade the General Assembly to bring up the question of the landmark's fate. Mrs. Josie F. Cappleman of the United Daughters of the Confederacy expressed the frustration of the building's advocates in remarks before the lawmakers:
"It is said that Governor Donaghey will recommend the sale of the Old State House. We women of Arkansas loathe to believe this report, although we have found it impossible to date to secure an interview with him regarding it. We are in earnest, however, and whoever tries to frustrate the movement to save the old building may rue the day such a step was taken."
That same year provided politicians an object lesson in the power of history. 1911 marked the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War and served as the occasion for the largest reunion of Confederate veterans ever held in Arkansas. Granted headquarters in vacated offices at the Old State House, the reunion used the old capitol as a rallying point for much of its activities and as the principal reviewing stand for its massive parade. This further reinforced the Old State House's historic image and solidified the support of influential Confederate patriotic organizations in defense of the building's preservation.
The 1911 Confederate Veterans Reunion |
The gallery of the United Daughters of the Confederacy is set up as a parlor of the 1860s. "The center table is the emblem of the family circle," Andrew J. Downing wrote in 1850. The practice of gathering around the parlor table continued up to and long after the Civil War.
Other standard parlor pieces of the period included a "chaperone" sofa and a "lady" chair. The shape of the sofa, with separated backs at each end, was intended to keep courting couples properly apart. The armless lady chairs accommodated the fashionably large hoop skirts of the day. These swollen dresses prevented women from tucking their skirts under when sitting. Instead they had to raise and stack the dress. The armless lady chair allowed the skirt to fall gracefully around a woman when she was seated.
The 1845 secretary is made of mahogany and walnut and features a later-applied crest. It is in two parts. The top has fitted glass doors that enclose shelves. The lower portion has a deep writing drawer above three separate drawers. On the secretary is a letter opener said to be made from wood taken from the staircase of the Confederate Capitol in Richmond.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy Room today |
The box grand piano was made in New York in 1865 by Ernest Gables. It was presented as a wedding present to Mr. and Mrs. Fay Hempstead and donated by their daughter.
The large portrait is of Dr. Craven Peyton, a Kentucky native who moved to Little Rock after graduating from Medical School. During the Mexican War he was commissioned as a surgeon in the Arkansas Regiment of Volunteers and he later served in a similar capacity during the Civil War. Peyton was one of the founders of Arkansas's Medical School, where his portrait hung for several years.
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