UCA has been a part of history throughout its time in Conway and will continue to be a part of history in the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2011, Old Main, the oldest building on campus, was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places. Now, more of the campus is being included in this honor, with Old Main at the center.
Seven UCA buildings have joined Old Main on the the National Registry of Historic Places. These buildings include Harrin, McAlister, McCastlain, Bernard and Wingo halls as well as the President’s House across Donaghey Ave. and the W.C. Ferguson Memorial Chapel.
The buildings make up what nominators coined the “Historic District,” and were first submitted for nomination at a State Review Board meeting last December.
Bryan Patrick, of the Conway City Planning Department said, “The city doesn’t oversee the approval of the nomination, so it’s really an honorary thing.”
Adding the buildings to the national register doesn’t keep them from being altered or destroyed, Patrick said, but the title holds significance in that each of the seven buildings was nominated for the honor.
“It is about trying to preserve as much as possible,” he said.
The buildings were constructed between 1919 and 1963, making them the seven oldest buildings that are part of UCA’s campus. They represent the growth and change UCA has undergone in those years, he said.
The buildings were added to the National Registry because of their significance locally in Conway, and also for their role in local education, Patrick said.
The buildings feature architecture from the late 19th and 20th centuries. The different buildings are one of either a Colonial Revival, Classic Revival or Modern Movement architecture class.
Gayle Seymour, college of fine arts and communication associate dean, is one of many individuals who wrote up the nominations for the buildings. Seymour said that to nominate a Historic District on campus, the group must contact the state office.
The Arkansas Historic Preservation office will inspect the buildings to see if they meet the criteria to be considered for the national registry.
“You have to write a very long nomination, describing each side of the building architecturally. Doors, windows, pillars, all the technical details,” Seymour said. “Since we nominated a section of UCA to become a Historic District, we only had to write one narrative about the entire campus.”
To be named a Historic District, the buildings nominated would have to bear historical significance, she said.
“How has the building changed over time? What famous people have been associated with the building? All of these aspects are important in determining its historical significance,” she said.
Seymour said being listed is an “honorary designation.” To have eight buildings on campus recognized as UCA’s own Historical District “says that the institution cares about its history.” Seymour said it creates a connectedness within the community, not just between current residents, but with the history that has been made throughout the changes to these significant pieces of architecture.