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Looney - French House
1325 Deer
Run Trail
Dalton, Randolph County, Arkansas |
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ca. 1833 log dog-trot cabin
Listed in National Register of Historic Places on September 23,
2004.
This was not an easy house to find. Thank you goes to Mr.
James Alley for taking his time to drive me out to it and then
pointing me to the right direction. 36.23.795N 91.07.745W
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Mr. Alley left me at this point, which was about 2
miles from the main highway.
Yes, I had to climb over the cattle gate. |
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Almost to the top of the hill where he said I
would be able to see the house. MAYBE 50 years ago.
House is still about 1 mile from this point & NO WAY could you see
it from the top of this hill. |
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| Note from Kim McKinney: I found your site
through Google. I was looking for my Great Grandmother Downey's farm
house, which is now on the National Registry as the Looney French
house. I grew up visiting my Great Grandmother Downey who was living
in this house, which at the time was very well kept. I loved this
farm. We lived in St. Louis, so visiting the farm and experiencing
all of the adventures it held was so much fun. The family stories
about my Great Grandfather finding Indian arrow heads and such while
plowing the fields gave us the idea that we too could find Indian
relics, but we never did. He had jars and jars at one time.
You mentioned in your info about yourself that you are a dead people
junkie, and I know how that feels. I am one too. You have a
wonderful spirit. I was wondering if you would like to see some
pictures of the cemetery that is out in the yard at the farm house.
The pictures I have are from the 60s or 70s, and my Great Great
Grandmother is buried in the yard with the slaves. The hand made
tombstones of the slaves were an amazing work of love. Over the
years the stones have disappeared, and I have no idea where they
have gone. When I was visiting the farm this past summer, there were
only two stones left and they were hard to find in the tall grass.
We have many family stories about the Indians taking my Great
Grandfather and bringing him back a few days later. Or the way my
Great Great Grandparents met. He was a Confederate soldier foraging
down the Eleven Point River for food when he met my Grandmother who
was married to Mr. Looney and living at the farm. Mr. Looney was
very sick, and died at the end of the war. Later Grandmother married
the soldier - my Grandfather. That's how it became the Downey farm
for the next 100 years and four generations. Many of my family has
been born and died in that house, or on that farm in another house.
It's sad to see it in decay. It was never like that when Grandmother
was living.
I have a newspaper article of my Great Grandmother standing in front
of it, and talking about when the slaves were freed and the history
of the house. Let me know if you would like a copy of it.
Thanks for including it in your collection of wonderful Arkansas
Ties. I have really enjoyed your site, and will pass it onto my
family.
Sincerely, Kim McKinney
mckinney_kim @ sbcglobal.net
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Randolph County |
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