- 206 W. Center Street
- Location: Google Maps
After acquiring title to a large parcel of land at the northwest corner of Center Street and Church Avenue, Henry and Sarah Reiff built this brick house for their family in 1857.
Henry Reiff was a merchant working on the Fayetteville Square, selling everything imaginable: farming implements, women’s clothing, groceries, books and stationery among others.
During the Civil War, it served as a commissary for Confederate troops early in the war and was used as one of many “hospitals” after the Battle of Prairie Grove, when many of soldiers who suffered wounds were brough to Fayetteville for care.
After the war, it went through a succession of sales to the present day:
- Joseph Holcomb, May 27, 1873
- Dr. James W. Jones, March 22, 1876
- Theodore F. Jones, 1883
- A.D. and Margaret Callison, 1941
- Reserve Estate Life Insurance Co., 1950
- Rogers Investment Co., 1956
- Robinson Investments, 1988
- Tommy and Matilda Mills, 1996
- Moore’s Chapel, 2009
- JSG Holdings, 2009
- PPC Properties, 2010
Callison was a funeral home director and county coroner at the time the Callisons bought the property.
In its early form, the house looks very similar to the Walker-Stone House just across the street. Its antebellum architecture could be described as a federal revival style.
Today, though, the exterior of the house looks considerably different. The balcony across the house was removed and two-story columns were added to support the overhanging roof. And the building was painted entirely white in the 1940s and remodeled on the left side and has been used for decades as Moore’s Funeral Chapel. The interior is designed to host funeral services.
Berna Funeral Homes operates Moore’s Funeral Home today.