• Solomon Grove Smith-Hughes Building - Twin Groves AR
    Local African American youth in the African American community of Twin Groves built the main school building and a "shop" under the direction of local stonemason Silas Owens, Sr. The project was funded by the National Youth Administration with assistance from the Hughes-Smith Act. The "shop" was used for vocational education (primary purpose of the Smith-Hughes Act), and also for classes when needed. Owens would continue to develop his "mixed masonry" methods that would ensure his place in stone buildings in Arkansas. Many of the men living in the Twin Groves area continue to practice as brick masons using the...