UAM NEWS
Harris and Horsfall Halls at UAM Listed on National Register of Historic Places

The Harris and Horsfall Historic District at the University of Arkansas at Monticello has been officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. The designation recognizes the buildings’ architectural and historical significance, affirming their value as structures worthy of preservation.
Constructed in 1933, the Harris and Horsfall Historic District encompasses two UAM campus buildings: Harris Hall and Horsfall Hall. Construction was supported by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a federal agency established in 1932 under President Herbert Hoover to provide emergency funds during the Great Depression. The project provided employment opportunities for local residents while expanding campus infrastructure. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a precursor to the Public Works Administration, which later funded several additional campus buildings.
Harris Hall, named after C.T. Harris, a member of the board of trustees for the Arkansas Fourth District State Agricultural School (now UAM), was designated as an all-male dormitory. Horsfall Hall, named and dedicated after Margaret Horsfall, wife of Frank Horsfall, the first president of the Arkansas Fourth District State Agricultural School, was designated as an all-female dormitory. Both buildings were completed in November 1933.
Designed by A.N. McAninch, an architect from Little Rock, Arkansas, Harris and Horsfall Halls reflect the Tudor Revival style that would later influence the designs of other campus buildings, including the current Music Building. The structures feature the style’s typical characteristics: steeply pitched, side-gabled roofs, facades dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables and tall, narrow windows. Both buildings rest on continuous cut-stone foundations and have steeply pitched gable roofs that are currently covered with standing-seam metal. McAninch departed from the traditional Tudor Revival style by covering both building exteriors with sandstone in a broken ashlar pattern. All original windows have been replaced, but both buildings still retain much of their historic appearance.
Harris Hall has been converted to an office space, and Horsfall Hall functions as UAM’s only all-female dormitory on campus. Despite multiple restorations and upgrades over the decades, the exteriors and interiors of both buildings still reflect their original 1933 history and significance.