History of the Queen Anne House 

The earliest picture of the Queen Anne House, before Central Ave was paved.

The Queen Anne House from a 1912 post card of Harrison, Arkansas.

A possible image of the Queen Anne's first residents, Mr. and Mrs. John and Ella Mcmurray.

The Queen Anne House has a rich history. The home is located in the Frick addition of Harrison which was laid out in 1850 by Henry W. Frick, a street in town still bares his name. The actual house was constructed by William Mark Duncan in 1893. Mr. Duncan was the son of a Pennsylvania congressmen. He was an accomplished businessman, owning banks and an electric company. He founded the bank of Harrison. He became most famous as a builder. He built this house, a prime example of the the Queen Anne style, and he also built the Basin Park hotel in Eureka Springs.  It was sold to it's first residents, John and Ella McMurray for $1,000.

The Queen Anne has had many owners.  According to handwritten notes found in the house here are a few highlights: In September of 1905 the Queen Anne was sold to the Reverend D. Shuck for $600. The Reverend maintained the house as the parsonage for the Christian Church of Harrison, and he wrote his Sunday sermons upstairs where the light from above shone down upon him, giving him peace and inspiration.  This area of the house is now referred to as the Turret Room. In 1919 the house was sold to J.P and Gertrude Callicott. J.P, the town Marshall, was a quite man who sat by a wood stove for many hours at a time and smoked his pipe in what is now referred to as the lobby. The home was gifted to Mrs. Ragland and her daughter Walsa Castleberry in January of 1943. They were both school teachers and gave piano lesson in the parlor. In 1986 the home was sold to Sheridan and Cynthia Garrison. Sheridan, a shipping tycoon, started the freightways company which later became Fedex. Fedex is still a major employer in Harrison to this day. His wife Cynthia performed a major restoration of the home. In 1991 the home was sold to Don and Kathleen Young. The Youngs added a glass solarium off the back porch, in addition they purchased the lot behind the home and built a carriage house.  The Youngs where the first people to run the house as a Bed and Breakfast.

In October of 2005 the Queen Anne House under it historic name the "Duncan House" was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

See the Queen Anne House and a more detailed history on the Arkansas Preservation Programs web site.

Town Marshall, J.P Callicott and His beloved wife Gertrude Callicot and grand son Kenneth  on the Queen Anne front porch.