History of the house at 414 N.7th Street
Fort Smith, Arkansas


(Click on picture to enlarge)

Following is the First Fifty Years of history we know about the house and its owners.

Lewis and Leah Friedman (1906-1925)

Circa 1906, Lewis and Leah Friedman were the owners of the house. Lewis continued to own the house until 1925.

Lewis was born in Slovakia, Hungary, on March 12, 1873, and immigrated to the United States in 1888, at the age of 15. According to his grandson, Myles Friedman, Jr., Lewis came to the United States alone, with no parents or family, with a twenty dollar gold piece sewn in his underwear. Lewis became a naturalized citizen in 1894. We do not know when Lewis came to Fort Smith, but the 1900 U.S. Census showed that he and his family lived in Fort Smith, but in a different house, in 1900.

Lewis met and married Leah Spiro, of St. Louis. Leah was born in Tennessee, in 1876, from German immigrants. Leah gave birth to their son, Myles, in the house at 414 N. 7th Street, according to the grandson, Myles, Jr., on October 31, 1906.

Lewis was a liquor dealer and the 1910 Fort Smith City directory had two listings of his companies, as well as his home address at 414 N. 7th St. Notice those long telephone numbers!

“Friedman & Co., wholesale liquors, 400-402 Garrison Ave.............................  98
  Friedman-Howell & Co., Pabst beer office................................................... 458
  Friedman, Lewis, residence 414 N. 7th St.................................................... 632"
See copy below.



Also, the 1914 city directory lists Lewis as an “Agent for Pabst Brewing Company of Milwaukee, WI.”

In 1918, Lewis signed a Sebastian County Registration Card for the United States Military Draft on September 12, at the age of 45. His Registration Card shows the information: Serial #1043, Order # 981. The Registrar’s Report, on back of the card, has the notation “C3-2=24.”

A couple of notable structural achievements of Lewis Friedman are two existing buildings on Garrison Avenue, in downtown Fort Smith. These are the Friedman - Wegman Building, in the 700 block, and the Friedman - Mincer Building in the 1100 block. Both buildings bear his name, near the top, on the face of each building. The Friedman - Mincer building also bears the date 1912 even higher up on the face.

Below is a photo taken of Lewis Friedman (foreground) and an unknown guest on the porch at 414 N. 7th Street. This photo is dated sometime between 1910 and 1920, and is provided courtesy of Myles Friedman, Jr. The photo was taken on the side porch, with the photographer looking toward the street. Notice the horse and buggy parked in the street.


Lewis Friedman (foreground), circa 1910 - 1920
Click on photo to see enlarged and enhanced photo.

With the advent of Prohibition (1920-1933), Lewis was forced out of the liquor business. His grandson, Myles Friedman Jr., reports that his grandfather had stocked the house at 414 N. 7th Street with enough whisky that Lewis and a couple of his friends could drink during the entire thirteen years of Prohibition.

Upon leaving the liquor business, Lewis moved into the wholesale tobacco business. The city directories of 1919 and 1921 list Lewis as a seller of cigars, tobacco and candy at 20 S. 6th Street.

According to the 1920 United States census, the residents at 414 N. 7th Street were Lewis Friedman (age 46), his wife, Leah (age 44) and one son, Miles (or Myles) (age 13), along with their black female servant, Mollie Burke (age 46). All household members could read and write, and speak English, according to the Census information.

Leah died November 11, 1925. At about that same time, Lewis moved out of the house at 414 N. 7th Street and into the Goldman Hotel in downtown Fort Smith. The 1925 city directory lists Lewis’ residence as the Goldman Hotel, along with his son Myles (listed as a student).

Lewis later was Postmaster of Fort Smith from circa 1930 until his death on September 3, 1944. A photo of him can be seen in a display case at the Fort Smith Airport. He is standing on the ground and handing a “bag of airmail” to pilot Rutherford (Rudd) Ross, who is seated in the plane and leaning out to take the bag. The caption underneath the photo reads that this photo was taken on November 11, 1931 and that this is a reenactment of the actual first airmail shipment out of Fort Smith on November 11, 1911. The existence of this photo was brought to our attention by Lewis’ grandson, Myles Friedman, Jr.

Lewis Friedman’s later residences, following the Goldman Hotel, were at 415 Lexington (1930) and the Ward Hotel (circa 1936 to 1944).

Mrs. Lula Davis (1925-1945)

Circa 1925, Mrs. Lula Davis was the owner of the house at 414 N. 7th Street. All the information we have concerning her is from the existing Fort Smith city directories. She was the widow of Columbus Davis.

These directories show her as the owner as early as 1925 and as late as 1942-1944. She operated the house as a boardinghouse as early as 1928 and as late as perhaps 1944. Boardinghouses were quite popular during that time.

Mrs. Davis was not listed in the 1945 city directory and she died on May 5, 1947.

Emery O. And Ethel L. Bowden (1945 - 1956)

Circa 1945, Emery O. and Ethel L. Bowden came to own the house at 414 N. 7th Street. All the information we have concerning them is from the existing Fort Smith city directories.

Emery was a Presser at several different cleaners in the city during the time he owned the house. He worked at S.L. Crow Cleaners (1945-1951), Evans Cleaners (1953, 1956) and E.R. Davis Cleaners (1955)