Hinderliter Grog Shop (Little Rock)

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You would probably never know just by looking at it, but this is the oldest building in Little Rock.




It was built by a German immigrant named Jesse Hinderliter in the late 1820s, one of dozens of log buildings in the growing city. Hinderliter opened a pub and grocery in the building, and folks visited it in this capacity for over a century.

Image from MSBarnett

 By the 1930s, Hinderliter was 100 years in the grave and the building was deteriorating. In 1939, the pub and a couple other buildings on the block were under threat of condemnation. A woman named Louisa Loughborough campaigned to save them, and soon the Historic Arkansas Museum was underway. The old logs behind the wooden frame boards were too far gone to save, so the building was restored in its framed state.

 

Image from MSBarnett

Today, you can visit the Hinderliter Grog Shop as part of the museum's house tour. Reenactors play the part of pub customers.

Big ol' chimney

To me, the grog house and museum are a rare success story in the preservation of a built environment. Despite the multi-story condominiums surrounding the block, walking around on the museum property really does feel like entering a time capsule to the 19th century.