Collison House Documentation

Collection

Identifier: MC 1773

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

Documents included in the collection are the meticulous accounts of the construction of the ranch style house that Mrs. Willie May Walker Collison and her husband William Collison built and lived in together. The records were kept by Mrs. Collison from the time that the house was first being constructed until just before she died.

The Collison House, located in Bald Knob, Arkansas on North Main Street is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house was designed by Estes W. Mann who had completed his architecture degree at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1915, and went on to design many houses in Arkansas and Tennessee. The Collison house was one of the first ranch style homes with Colonial Revival influence. The house is one and a half stories, with a brick exterior, and a symmetrical facade. The house replaced an existing structure.

The Collison House Documents contain photocopied journal entries detailing various accounts of the construction of the house including sketches of the house, paint colors, and appliances.

Dates

1949-1999

Creator

Collison, Willie May Walker (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Willie May Walker and her husband, William Collison, lived in their previous home for sixteen years when Mrs. Collison decided to hire Estes W. Mann to design their new home. The Collisons had lived in Bald Knob since 1896 and the family was an important part of the community. Jim Collison, William's father, built a cotton gin, lumber yard, funeral home, had investments in the local bank, and owned thousands of acres of land.

Extent

.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Additional Description

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arrange by topic.

Acquisition Information

The Collison House Documentation was donated to the Special Collections Department, University of Arkansas Libraries, on June 24, 2008 by Jane Emde, the current resident of the Collison House in Bald Knob, Arkansas.