Ode to Alice J. Andrews

Alice Andrews, an artist and native of El Dorado, Arkansas, fell in love with Boxley Valley, on upper Buffalo River, more than thirty years ago. In the late 1980s she visited the offices of Buffalo National River, inquiring about the possibility of acquiring land in Boxley Valley. She wanted to know if she might be able to purchase a small parcel where she could build and settle there. We explained the complicated situation in Boxley, where the resolution of issues surrounding land ownership was still in the works.

By that time the National Park Service (NPS) had “turned the corner” in the management of Boxley Valley, determining that – after much consultation – the valley, with its multiplicity of historic (and prehistoric) assets, was on the wrong path to the future. Despite Congressional intent to leave Boxley as a “Private Use Zone,” many farms and homes had been acquired by “the government” during the land-buying years, 1972 – 1982. Only a half-dozen occupied homes in the valley were not in federal ownership. Several of the homes acquired by the NPS stood vacant and neglected, their former owners having sold out and moved out of the valley. Included among those properties was an iconic 2-story house, referred to by the NPS as the “Casey-Clark House.” It was located on the north bank of Beech Creek, about ½ mile down a 1-lane dirt road running southwest of the Boxley Baptist Church. The last owners had sold their 112 acres to the NPS; however, like most residents in the valley, they’d retained a 25-year “use and occupancy right” to their home and land. While they continued to “run some cattle” on the farmland, they’d vacated their home of some 30 years and resettled near Osage, Arkansas. Their former Boxley home had stood vacant for about 12 years, but it was “tied up” by the Clark family’s retained right of use and occupancy. Alice would have to deal with the Clarks, and convince them to convey their legal interest to her, so she could acquire the property from the NPS. We were eager to help her in that effort, as the old place certainly deserved saving. A brief telling of its historical significance follows:

The story of the old home is as fraught with conflict and tragedy as any in the valley, having been built soon after the Civil War, “on the ashes” of the 1840s log home of Confederate sympathizers, Allsberry (“Berry”) and Phoebe (Whiteley) Casey—son and daughter of two of the earlier-arriving pioneer families on this stretch of Buffalo River. (Boxley Valley was called “Whiteley Mills” long before it acquired the Boxley name. Berry Casey’s father, Abner Casey built the first gristmill, circa 1840, and conveyed it, circa 1850, to fellow pioneer Samuel Whiteley, who established the valley’s first post office, “Whiteley Mills.” Samuel, father of Phoebe, operated the original gristmill until he was murdered in 1864.).

Oral history suggests that the original Casey log house was torched during the Civil War, in revenge for the killing of Benjamin Casey, a Union soldier on leave to visit his family in the north part of Boxley Valley. (See book Old Folks Talking for the story of how Ben Clark had lain in ambush and slain members of the crew of men, including Berry Casey, returning from a day at the Bat Cave gunpowder works. The site of that tragedy is on the adjoining farm, visible across Beech Creek from the historic Casey house.)

Berry Casey’s death and the home’s destruction left widow Phoebe with six fatherless and homeless children; however, they somehow managed, through the remaining years of war and privation. Berry’s surviving brothers rebuilt the burned home, and their work stands today, reflecting modifications made over 100 years of continuous occupation. (1957—1993, the Casey place was owned by descendants of the Union soldier who ambushed and killed the original house’s builder.)

Back in 1993 Alice Andrews wasn’t getting anywhere in her efforts to convince the owners of the Casey house over 20 previous years—and still holder of a legal interest in the old house—to convey that interest to her, so she could proceed to “buy back” the property from the NPS. I made a “leap of faith” by driving Alice to visit with the Clarks, in their new home in Osage, Carroll County. While Bill remained disinclined to part with his legal ties to the old place, Bill’s wife Charlene seemed to be getting on very nicely with Alice, as the two ladies quickly found common ground: Alice was a successful landscape artist and Charlene was a skilled amateur painter. She eventually succeeded in changing her husband’s mind and they executed the documents to permit Alice to proceed with acquisition of the old Casey place. On October 22, 1993 she became the owner of 1.75 acres including the house, a nearby log smoke house and the flowing spring.

Alice didn’t move in for a time, during which she had a geothermal heating/cooling system installed, and hired local craftsmen to renovate the structure, including rebuilding the chimney and fireplace. (Prior to Alice’s arrival on the Boxley scene, NPS had repointed the chimney stones and brought in a contractor to rid the 15-year vacant house of powder-post beetles, termites, etc.—it was enshrouded with a giant “balloon,” into which gas-heated air was pumped for hours. NPS also performed stabilization on the bank of Beech Creek, which threatened to undercut her deck. Photos of the Casey-Clark house, prior to Alice’s ownership and after she began remodeling are shown on pages 96 and 148, Old Folks Talking, 3rd printing, 2006.)

Alice Andrews is credited with saving one of the more historic homes in Boxley Valley, turning the long-neglected house into a warm, welcoming home, while retaining its significant historic features, like the log-walls shown in one of above-cited photographs. We hope Alice’s California-based sister will find a way for the historic “Casey-Andrews home” to continue to receive loving care. That would be a fitting memorial to Alice.