|
Notes from Kay Tatum:
An
antebellum home consisting of two architectural styles, Greek
Revival and Roman Classic, the
home features a grand central hall so typical of the Antebellum
styled home. The
Jeffersonian portico columns are Roman. Within 20 years of the
homes completion all members of the
Trapnall family were dead. In the 1920's it became a boarding
house. It
was
restored by the Junior League of Little Rock in 1963 and they
retained ownership until
1976 when it was deeded to the State of Arkansas as the Governor's
Official Receiving
Hall. It is now used as a reception hall and many wedding,
receptions, and parties are held
there. The Quapaw line crosses the western portion of the
property. Built by Frederic Trapnall of
Kentucky, an attorney and early political figure in Arkansas.
He built the home with the idea of
entertaining large groups of people. The red bricks of the
home were made in
Kentucky and shipped by river barge to Little Rock for the home's
construction. The home was
painted white sometime early in its history.
Frederic Trapnall's brother Phillip married Sarah "Sallie" Faulkner
who was well known
as
the prettiest and most popular girl in Little Rock. Sallie was
the daughter
of
Sandford "Sandy" Faulkner, the author of the "Arkansas Traveler" and
whom Faulkner
County was named for. Sadly, Phillip Trapnall died at an early
age. Sallie, Little Rock's
original "party girl," then married a rather homely gentleman just
to go to
New
Orleans to Mardi Gras. The marriage didn't last but Sally
re-married several
times. When "Daddy's" money ran out so did marital prospects.
Sadly, Sally suffered
a
terrible accident while riding one day and broke her leg. She
removed the dressings
early so as to go to a party and infection set up in the leg
resulting in amputation . With her looks
faded, handicapped, and penniless, Sallie Faulkner Trapnall died in
poverty at the age of 54
in 1881 living on the streets of Little Rock. She is buried
with her parents at Mount
Holly Cemetery. Her father, Sandford Faulkner has the only
tombstone in which music is inscribed.
|
