Johnston Drug Store Building

200 East Main Street

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Hardy Downtown Historic District

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Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 26, 2025

1. Johnston Drug Store Building Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by Kenneth Story, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, 8/8/1995:
The intact historic fabric of downtown Hardy includes storefront buildings, separate commercial structures of various types and vintages, and a small number of significant residential buildings that are included because of their role in the unique character of Hardy's historic commercial district. The historic buildings range from one to three stories in height. Most of the buildings are of masonry construction, with brick and native stone being the materials of choice. A few wood frame buildings survive, as do some historic formed concrete block

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 26, 2025

2. Johnston Drug Store Building Marker

The marker is on the left side of the south/front facade.

structures. The stone buildings frequently display grapevine mortaring and are built of fieldstone. The brick buildings are usually of red brick, though some buff brick buildings are found also, and their parapets often contain a simple, recessed signage panel.

The historic core of Hardy, Arkansas is located on the north bank of the Spring River, with its commercial axis formed by the railroad tracks (first the Kansas City, Ft. Scott and Memphis Railroad, then the St. Louis and San Francisco (“Frisco”) and now the Burlington and Northern) and Main Street, both of which run parallel to the river. The community of Hardy was founded in the early 1880s, after the arrival of the railroad, and grew to become the county seat of the northern district of Sharp County in 1891, with the new courthouse being completed by 1894. By the turn of the century Hardy became a rather busy resort town, largely due to the popularity of the recreational and fishing opportunities afforded by the Spring River.

A side-effect of the early twentieth century development of Hardy as a resort community was the construction of various types of buildings designed to shelter the resulting service industries. Such construction included general mercantile buildings, hotels, gas stations and tourist courts. This was particularly true during the period after World War I, with the dramatic growth in popularity

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 26, 2025

3. Johnston Drug Store Building (south/front elevation)

Johnston Drug Store is the leftmost of two adjacent storefronts in this building.

of the automobile. The growth and expansion of downtown Hardy continued throughout the 1920’s but slowed during the Depression and World War II.

The Hardy Historic Commercial District remains one of the last examples of the small resort community in Arkansas and how it developed. Historical accounts of other resort communities throughout the state — most of which have long since disappeared — relate how many resort communities began simply as settlements organized around a spring or river and composed largely of private farmsteads. These communities took on a resort character only after the dramatic growth nationally of the spa "craze" and the widely held belief that waters — particularly mineral waters — held medicinal qualities that could heal any number of maladies and afflictions.

(By Rachel Silva, 6/11/2016) Excerpt:
Johnston Drug Store Building (1897), 200 East Main Street (today: unidentified storefront)
A one-story, rough-cut stone building was constructed here in 1897 and housed Schenck Drug Store. William J. “Doc” Johnston soon acquired the building for his drug store and medical practice. According to local history, Johnston added the second story

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 26, 2025

4. Johnston Drug Store Building (southwest elevation)

in 1922; however, Sanborn maps from 1926 show the building as one-story in height. Regardless, a second story was added by Johnston, probably in the late 1920s or early 1930s.

The building later housed the Sharp County Independent newspaper, published by Ben Daulton beginning in 1935. Daulton was known for his good editorials. He also served as Hardy’s mayor and literally swept the streets of downtown Hardy every day. The Independent was published regularly until 1966. Daulton’s wife, Helen, taught English and “culture” at Hardy. In May 1980 Dale and Liane Maddox purchased the building and opened Hardy Pottery.

Excerpt:  The Hardy Downtown Historic District encompasses most of the central business district of the resort community of Hardy, Arkansas. It extends along Main Street, between Church and Cope Streets, and includes a few buildings on adjacent streets. Hardy was founded as a railroad town in the 1880s but grew by the end of the 19th century into a resort community, serving as commercial center for vacationers from Memphis, Tennessee. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

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