Umsted Home


The Umsted House In July of 1922, Sidney Albert Umsted became a wealthy man literally overnight when he struck oil in Smackover, Arkansas at the Richardson Well #1. This event sparked an enormous amount of oil exploration and drilling in this area, and Sid Umsted became known as the father of the Smackover fields. Soon after the Smackover discovery, Umsted began oil explorations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma, and became one of the wealthiest men in Arkansas. With the rough atmosphere created by the oil boom, Smackover had become a wild place to live, so Umsted began construction on this house in Camden. The house is one of only a couple of examples of Mediterranean architecture along Washington Street. The style was very popular in the early 1920's, and some of the finest examples of the style in Arkansas can be found in the oil rich south central part of Arkansas, where the oil boom came just as the style was reaching its peak in popularity. The house is dominated by the wonderful mission style dormer and features other key elements of the Mediterranean style, such as the green tile roof, low pitched hip roof and large flat roofed porches and large casement windows. The contract to build the house lists the following firms and people as being involved in the construction: The house was designed by the Texarkana firm of Witt, Seibert, and Halsey, with E. C. Seibert as the project architect. Johnson and Wagner Contractors supervised the construction. The stone came from the Camden Marble Works and the millwork came from Alto Mill and Lumber Company. J. W. Griffin did the plaster work. The dark green glazed Imperial Spanish tile roof was installed by J. W. Stephens roofing Company. The tile floors were laid by F. J. Gorman. A garage and gazebo were also built at or near the original time of construction and remain on the property today. The Umsteds moved into the house in May of 1924. Family members included Sid, his wife Edna (Edwards) Umsted and their three daughters Gressie, and twins Aubrey and Audrey. Tragedy struck the family in November of 1925 when Sid met an untimely death in a train accident. However, his family continued to own the house until the early 1990's. Today the house is owned by only its second owners, James Lee and Sue Silliman.

The Umsted House

In July of 1922, Sidney Albert Umsted became a wealthy man literally overnight when he struck oil in Smackover, Arkansas at the Richardson Well #1. This event sparked an enormous amount of oil exploration and drilling in this area, and Sid Umsted became known as the father of the Smackover fields. Soon after the Smackover discovery, Umsted began oil explorations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma, and became one of the wealthiest men in Arkansas.

With the rough atmosphere created by the oil boom, Smackover had become a wild place to live, so Umsted began construction on this house in Camden. The house is one of only a couple of examples of Mediterranean architecture along Washington Street. The style was very popular in the early 1920's, and some of the finest examples of the style in Arkansas can be found in the oil rich south central part of Arkansas, where the oil boom came just as the style was reaching its peak in popularity. The house is dominated by the wonderful mission style dormer and features other key elements of the Mediterranean style, such as the green tile roof, low pitched hip roof and large flat roofed porches and large casement windows.

The contract to build the house lists the following firms and people as being involved in the construction: The house was designed by the Texarkana firm of Witt, Seibert, and Halsey, with E. C. Seibert as the project architect. Johnson and Wagner Contractors supervised the construction. The stone came from the Camden Marble Works and the millwork came from Alto Mill and Lumber Company. J. W. Griffin did the plaster work. The dark green glazed Imperial Spanish tile roof was installed by J. W. Stephens roofing Company. The tile floors were laid by F. J. Gorman.

A garage and gazebo were also built at or near the original time of construction and remain on the property today. The Umsteds moved into the house in May of 1924. Family members included Sid, his wife Edna (Edwards) Umsted and their three daughters Gressie, and twins Aubrey and Audrey.

Tragedy struck the family in November of 1925 when Sid met an untimely death in a train accident. However, his family continued to own the house until the early 1990's. Today the house is owned by only its second owners, James Lee and Sue Silliman.