Lycurgus Johnson House, State Highway 142, Lake Village, Chicot County, AR

1985 Charles E. Peterson Prize, First Place
Significance: The Lycurgus Johnson House on Lakeport Plantation is an historic treasure. This antebellum grande dame is found in the southeast corner of Arkansas facing the Mississippi River and surrounded by vast cotton fields. The Johnson family founded and lived on the plantation for some ninety years from 1831 until 1921. At the time of the great cotton crash of 1921, Dr. Victor M. Johnson, son of Lycurgus, sold the holdings to the Epstien Estate of Lake Village and moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Having been owned by only two families throughout its long history has helped to preserve the integrity of the plantation house and outbuildings. It has escaped being remodeled, redecorated or extensively modernized. With few exceptions, the house and plantation context remain in their original status quo, retaining a vestige of the gracious air and look of the Old South. Time has had its effect on the buildings. However, in 1984 with a grant from the Arkansas Preservation Program, maintenance has been undertaken to stabilize the condition of the buildings.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-10
Survey number: HABS AR-31
Building/structure dates: 1852 Initial Construction