This is the old George William Smith house in Saint Paul, Arkansas, where my wife Linda and I live. There are seven huge eastern red cedar trees in the yard, hence, we call it the Seven Cedars Homestead. The house is only a 150 feet from the bank of the upper White River.
George William Smith, a watchmaker, entrepreneur, and sometime politician built this house in about 1888 and originally referred to this place as “Smith’s Retreat”. He had his jewellery and watch shop in the house and occasionally rented rooms to boarders. The tracks of the Saint Paul branch of the Frisco railroad were only 50 feet to the north of the front porch.
Linda and her late husband, Terry Nichols, lived here and spent many years restoring this house before Terry passed away in 2014. Linda and I were married in 2016 and are working on some repairs and updates to the property. There is always plenty to do here at Seven Cedars Homestead.