Block-Catts House (c.1832)

Built by Abraham Block, by 1832, for his large family, this house is one of the only remaining federal style houses built in southwest Arkansas. Block was the first documented Jewish settler in Arkansas. arriving in the late 1820s, and one of the most important businessmen in early Hempstead County.

One of Arkansas’s earliest Jewish settlers, the Bohemia-born Block originally settled in Virginia before serving in the War of 1812. By 1825, he was establishing business connections in New Orleans in preparation for his move to Hempstead County. His wife, Fanny, and their seven children joined Block in their recently-completed Washington home in 1827. The successful mercantile store he owned, which would become Block & Sons, would expand into a chain across Southwest Arkansas, including locations in Fulton and Paraclifta in Sevier County. His business ownerships also included a local sawmill.

Much studying has been done on the lives of the Blocks as the first Jewish settlers in the region, and the only ones known to be in the area. The New Orleans synagogue that Abraham Block helped found, Shangrai Chesed, was considered very liberal for its day; the Blocks could only attend when Abraham traveled south on business. Contents of a refuse pit behind the house suggests the Blocks did not keep strictly kosher, at least in terms of certain hooved animals, although this may have been out of basic survival out on the frontier. With a lack of local religious leadership, many Jewish observances and holidays could’ve been handled by the family patriarch. As most of Block’s daughters married locally, they converted to Christianity. Even the Block's marriage was unique, with Abraham being of Ashkenazim descent and Fanny of Sephardic descent.

After the start of the 20th century, the front porch was removed and a doorway with a tall balcony was installed in the front of the second story. The back porch was enclosed, and several lean-tos were built on to form a modern kitchen and bathroom. By the time the house was incorporated into the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation, it was owned by the Catts family, which is why it carries their name. Following the park’s acquisition in the 1980s, with the help of archaeological research, the front porch and most of the frontier-era look was restored.

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