Partially hidden behind a large magnolia tree along Highway 5 (Stagecoach Road) in Little Rock stands the historic Ten Mile House. The federal-style home is a rare example of the rural homes found in early nineteenth century-Arkansas. Since its construction, the structure has looked much like it did when first built. The Ten Mile House was taken over by Union troops during the Civil War and accommodated those traveling on the Southwest Trail stagecoach line.
The Ten Mile House, also known as the Stagecoach House and the McHenry House, was built by Archibald McHenry sometime between 1825-1836. Having left Tennessee around 1820, McHenry built a log cabin on property he purchased near Arkansas’ capital city of Little Rock. His children, John and Henry McHenry, later built a brick home adjacent to their father’s log home.
Archibald McHenry owned about 1,500-acres along the Southwest Trail, as well as property in the community of Crystal Hill (Pulaski County) by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Along with farming, McHenry was active in local politics-- serving as a public building commissioner, justice of the peace and as Pulaski County coroner. After McHenry’s death in 1835, his two sons inherited his home and vast amounts of property in Crystal Hill and Little Rock.
In 1842, John McHenry became acquainted with three men in Little Rock: Robert Brownlee, Sam McMorrin and James McVicar. The men were Scottish stonemasons who had come to Arkansas to work on the construction of the state’s new capitol building (now known as the Old State House) and several other public buildings in Little Rock. As the men were between jobs at the time, Brownlee, McMorrin and McVicar intermittently lived at McHenry’s house for six years. During their stay, the men constructed the brick kitchen and cellar of the Ten Mile House. Brownlee and McMorrin also created the monument to William Gilchrist, Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, who died in 1843. The sixteen-foot marker is located in the Masonic plot in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.
At the same time, Robert Brownlee, built a brick home in Little Rock for his brother, James. The restored home still stands and can be toured as part of the Division of Arkansas Heritage’s Historic Arkansas Museum. The nearby wooden home built by James McVicar between 1846-1849 has also been restored and is part of the museum as well.
As the Ten Mile House was located on the stagecoach line, it has long been speculated that it served as a stop for weary travelers as an inn and tavern. During the 1863 Union occupation of Little Rock, the Ten Mile House was used as a headquarters for Union forces.
In January 1863, seventeen-year-old Arkansan David Owen Dodd was held in Union custody overnight in the Ten Mile House’s smokehouse prior to his transfer to the federal arsenal in Little Rock for his trial and execution for being a Confederate spy.
The Ten Mile House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1970. Throughout the years, numerous individuals and families have owned the home and its surrounding outbuildings. The historic structure has served as an antique store, tea room, a venue for public dinner parties and weddings and a family residence. Currently, the Ten Mile Home is private property and not open to the public.
A stone marker, known as the Confederate Last Stand Monument, stands in front of the Ten Mile House. The monument marks the approximate location of the last skirmish between Union and Confederate troops during the Little Rock Campaign of the Civil War on September 11, 1863. The monument was commissioned by the General T. J. Churchill Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), and dedicated on October 15, 1929.
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