...Continued

The Rosalie, Circa 2008
Photo Copyright 2007 by Charles & Lori Ragsdell. All Rights Reserved.

There have been many changes to The Rosalie over the years. A major one was the expansion of the porches. Originally the porches had one peak, and were doubled in size. Then the back porches were expanded further and enclosed. There was also a huge wrap-around front porch that was added and later removed.

One change was the stairwell to the second floor. It originally went from the back of the house to the middle of the hallway, and was rebuilt into the grand staircase you see today. Evidence of this change was found by a previous owner during renovations.

Another major change was merging the two front parlors into one. When first built, there were two parlors, one for the ladies, one for the men, with a pocket door between. During earlier renovations, the center wall was removed to create a huge double parlor.

Another change is the name itself. It was originally called "The Hill House". The Hill children, however, called it "The Gingerbread House" for all the intricate trim work. The Perebooms renamed it to "The Rosalie House" after visiting The Rosalie Mansion in Natchez in the 1970's.

One question people often ask about The Rosalie is "Why isn't the garage symmetrical?" In 1947, the Kidds built the garage and a patio, which became the subject of a lawsuit with their neighbors, CA and May Fuller in 1954, when the Kidds built a fence on the bluff above the garage. The Fullers went to court, maintaining the garage encroached on the 12 foot easement driveway they had kept when selling the house and lots to the Watkins. The court agreed, and said the Kidds must remove the fence.

However, the court also ruled that the Kidds had "adverse possession" of the land since the Fullers hadn't complained in the seven years since it was built. The court ruled the Kidds could leave the building, but must pay the Fullers for the land they had encroached upon. While the court was waiting to hear motions as to the price for that 125 square feet of land, the Kidds literally sawed off part of the garage! The court then ruled there was no payment due since the building was no longer on the Fullers' land, and denied the Fuller's request for vacating the easement and attorney fees.

And that is why the garage looks like part of it is missing-- IT IS!

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Note: The above information was compiled from various sources, including "History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas." by The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889, the property's abstract, court records, and various articles purchased with The Rosalie. We believe it to be accurate, but welcome any corrections or additional information. We also believe that all images used are in the public domain, or are copyrighted by Charles and Lori Ragsdell. If not, we will gladly credit the copyright holder or remove the image upon notification and proof of copyright.