Sprague House, Corning, AR.  “Sprague House, Hwy 67 & 62”.  (Bobbye Harmon).

From the Clay County Courier, February 12, 1998:

"Out with the Old...

"For 73 years...  since the Spring of 1925... the F. B. Sprague home has occupied a place of prominence in Corning, the North half of Black [sic] 2B in the Wynn First Addition.  The red brick two-story house had only three owners from beginning to end and will be missed by both local and out-of-town motorists who used it as a landmark when traveling busy Highway 67.

"The Sprague family, Mr. and Mrs. Sprague and their daughters, Sara Frances and Virginia, moved into the home, which was then described as one of the largest, most beautiful and modernly equipped and furnished homes in this part of Arkansas, in May of 1925.  Sara Frances, who taught Fourth grade in Corning Schools for a number of years, later married Hal N. Ratcliffe, one of the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Tom W. Ratcliffe, early Corning settlers, who lived in a huge frame home two blocks away, on Pine Street, which burned a few years ago, when owned and occupied by the Larry Shepard family.  Virginia Sprague married Gordon A. Lamb who came to Corning in the mid 1930's [sic] as an educator and was later an officer in Corning Bank and a leader in the community.

"According to records in the courthouse, researched by Tax Assessor Charles O Wright, the property was owned by Mrs. C. E. Skinner in 1924 and she paid the taxes for 1923 which were due that year.  (Property taxes are paid one year behind.)  After paying the taxes she, apparently, sold the property to Sprague who paid the taxes for his first time in 1925, for the year 1924.  The property was listed with value of $2,500 and the taxes amounting to $84.25 were paid by Sprague.  By 1926, taxes due amounted to $88.00.

"So far as can be determined by records in the courthouse, Mr. and Mrs. Olen Shepard became only the second owners of the property, selling to Harold (Blue) Riggan, Jr. in 1997.  Olen Shepard told the Courier, Friday, that they purchased the property in 1971 and enjoyed living there right up until they realized it was "just too much house for them" with five rooms upstairs, six rooms downstairs (counting small rooms), plus a basement.  The Shepards had furnished their home with antiques, making it into a showplace, and offered it for use for many gatherings of church women as well as for social gatherings during Corning's Centennial Celebration in 1973.  It was believed to be one of the few houses in Corning with exterior walls two or three bricks thick.  Olen Shepard also said that he is not too sure about the date the house was built, but that his grandfather, the late Jim Shepard, had told him that the house was there before Highway 67 came through in 1926 or 1927.  Olen did say that while "prowling around in the basement" he had run across plumbing dated 1913, something he can't explain.

"Apparently, 1925 was a good year for Corning as the Missouri-Pacific Railroad Station, on First Street, at the East end of Vine street, was built, remaining a part of the business scene until about eight years ago when it was torn down.  This modern new train station had replaced the old station which was located in East Corning across from Oliver and Company which had been used as a freight depot for a number of years before it was torn down.  Also, that same year, D. Hopson had built Hopson Arcade (Hop Alley) a covered sidewalk from First to Second streets, downtown and a big oil prospecting company, Clay County Oil Drilling Company, headed by Joseph Sellmeyer of Knobel, was in operation just North of Corning in Williams community.

"Mayor Bob Cochran also said that his father, the late E. V. Cochran, had told him that he remembered the house being there back about 1900 when he and his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Cochran Barnett, traveled past it enroute from their home in Success to Corning, via wagon and team."

Submitted by Danny Moore