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Arkansas » Ozarks » Independence County » Batesville » Jesse B. Carpenter Building (U.S. Post Office)

Jesse B. Carpenter Building (U.S. Post Office)

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1904, James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury. 368 E. Main St.
  • (Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, A Division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, Mason Toms, photographer)

This Renaissance Revival former post office now houses the Independence County Library, along with county offices. The architectural style of this building was one that the Treasury Department used for most of its post offices in the first decade of the twentieth century. Constructed of brown brick, with Batesville marble foundation and trim, the building features large, segmental-arched windows in the middle three of its five front bays, along with decorative marble panels, keystones, and stringcourses. Heavy brackets and the dentil molding beneath the cornice lend a rhythm that unites all four elevations. The interior features quarter-sawn oak woodwork throughout and a terrazzo and marble floor in the area formerly serving postal customers. When the post office relocated in 1974 to a larger new building, local politician Jesse B. Carpenter was instrumental in acquiring this landmark building for the county, which was named for him in acknowledgment.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Cyrus A. Sutherland with Gregory Herman, Claudia Shannon, Jean Sizemore Jeannie M. Whayne and Contributors
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What's Nearby

Barnett Brothers Mercantile Company
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Garrott House
Independence County Courthouse
Case Building

Citation

Cyrus A. Sutherland with Gregory Herman, Claudia Shannon, Jean Sizemore Jeannie M. Whayne and Contributors, "Jesse B. Carpenter Building (U.S. Post Office)", [Batesville, Arkansas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AR-01-IN5.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Arkansas

Buildings of Arkansas, Cyrus A. Sutherland and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018, 83-84.

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