Okay, Searcy readers. Here's a test for you? What kind of house is this?

This may be of interest to Searcy history buffs. What kind of house is this?

I call it a "pumping station house." If you know Searcy you'll probably remember that these houses were brought into the city of Searcy or around the city of Searcy and set up on various lots.

The pumping station referred to the gas pumping station on Highway 267 South. My understanding is that these were sorta like employee "on base" housing and were given away or sold mighty cheap to either employees or whoever would move them off the premises.

They date back to around the 50's and they were all basically the same. I've sold a few during my career and we can tell they're pumping station houses by the glass bricks around the front door, the pitched roof with a very different kind of shingle. Some folks think the shingles were unsightly but my sources told me that the roofs were made of slate. Therefore, this house has the original roof, probably over 50 years old!!

They usually had a screened in porch and I think this one does too if you notice the difference in the color of the asbestos shingle. They didn't have a stick of plywood but were all wood including wood floors. The kitchens had metal cabinets. Probably lots of them also had the asbestos siding, a definite no-no now.

Most have been changed considerably and become unrecognizable but doing my drive-through a neighborhood today I saw this one right in front of me. My original source said they built extremely well. Perhaps that's why so many are still in use.

Correct me, Searcy, if my view of history is wrong...............................