PRAIRIE GROVE -- While Prairie Grove will be the scene for two junk festivals this weekend, historic downtown Prairie Grove and other shops in town continue to provide day-to-day, year-round opportunities for customers looking for unique gifts and home decorations, repurposed and antique furniture, boutique clothing and jewelry.
Visitors coming to the Arkansas Apple Festival, Junk at the Mill and The Junk Ranch are encouraged to drive through Prairie Grove, making a stop to browse through the many unique stores in the area or take a break for something to eat or drink.
In all, Prairie Grove has about 25 flea markets, antique stores and other boutiques, according to information from City Hall.
The stores include Daisies & Olives, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in December 2017. The building has about 80 vendors and is one of the anchors for the downtown area.
New flea markets and boutiques continue to open in Prairie Grove. One of the newest is the Rustic Rooster, located on U.S. 62 Highway or Heritage Parkway. The Rustic Rooster provides booths for vendors to present items for sale.
Other new vintage boutiques that opened this past year in the downtown area include Junk Pink and High on the Hog.
The downtown area also has received special recognitions in the past year.
Prairie Grove was accepted into the Main Street Arkansas program in May. Specifically, Prairie Grove is a member of the Arkansas Downtown Network, a program that falls under Main Street Arkansas, which represents about 39 cities seeking to revitalize their historic downtown areas.
According to Rick Ault, who chairs Prairie Grove's Main Street steering committee, the visions and principles of Main Street Arkansas fall in line with visions local residents have about downtown Prairie Grove. They all want to see the downtown grow, both from a economic perspective and a historical preservation perspective.
Along with being accepted into the Main Street program, two historic districts in downtown Prairie Grove were recognized nationally this year. The historic districts were named to the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior. The Register is the country's official list of historically significant properties.
Prairie Grove Commercial Historic District is located on the south side of East Buchanan Street, between 107 and 305 Buchanan, and includes Mock Park at 123 S. Neal. Some of the buildings date back to 1883.
The district has 2.6 acres and represents the main thoroughfare in the town's central business section. One building in the district, the Southern Mercantile Building, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The second district, called North Mock Street Commercial Historic District, consists of the two buildings at 114 and 116 North Mock St. Both structures are described as turn-of-the-century commercial buildings.
The building at 114 N. Mock Street was constructed in 1903 as B.H. Harrison Masonic Temple and now provides meeting space for Prairie Grove's Occidental Lodge No. 436.
The building next door at 116 N. Mock St., was constructed in 1904 by B.F. Carl and originally was Ozark Mercantile Co., selling furniture and caskets. It now has Fat Rolls Bakery on the first floor and residential space on the second floor.
General News on 10/03/2018