A.O. Clarke

In the early 1900s one of the best known figures in Rogers was architect A.O. Clarke. Born in New York state in 1859, Clarke worked for 23 years in the St. Louis architecture firm of Mathews and Clarke. In 1904 he opened a second office in Rogers.

Clarke designed many buildings in Benton county, including the court House, the Massey Hotel, the Central Methodist episcopal Church, the Applegate Building, the Bank of Rogers, the old Rogers High School, the First Presbyterian Church, the Victory Theater, and several residences.

Clarke also designed numerous buildings around Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri, generally working in the then-popular Neo-classical style. His wife, Grace Brownlee Clarke, was also an important figure in Rogers, sharing her talents for music, landscape architecture, and gardening. A.O. Clarke died in 1935.
 

A.O. Clarke, circa 1930.
(Neg. #N003093. Courtesy of the Morning Newsof Northwest Arkansas.)