William Looney Tavern

One of Arkansas’s and the regions’ most finely crafted log structures, the 1833 white oak log dogtrot  constructed by William Looney is considered to have functioned as a rural tavern as well serving Looney’s distilling industry. He produced apple brandy in a day when distilling was a common practice for preserving fruits or grain.  In the post-Civil War period the structure was converted to a dwelling by the Downey family.  For more than a century it was known as the Downey Place. It was donated to Black River Technical College by Jack and Christina French, descendants of the valley’s pioneering families, and the college oversaw the historic restoration project.