Built in 1894, the Chisum House (located at 1320 Cumberland Street) is a significant example of modified Queen Anne architecture.  It is notable for its architectural oddity in relation to other buildings in Little Rock.  The Chisum House embodies many of the Victorian period characteristics of irregular shape, towers, and multiple gales and bays.  The Chisum House represents the eclectic manner of late nineteenth-century architectural style in America through its use of these characteristics.

The house was built by and has since been associated with families of long social prominence in Little Rock.  Jason Sowell, who built the house, came from a family who had already been leaders in social life in Little Rock for many years; the family had been one of Little Rock’s earliest families.  Jason Sowell’s daughter married into the Chisum family, who were also among the favored social class in Little Rock and were to remain so for many years.

Sowell’s daughter married Oscar Clifton Chisum in 1892.  Chisum was born in Austin, Arkansas, in 1860.  He was associated with a drug firm in Memphis, Tennessee, until he moved to Little Rock in 1892.  Upon moving to Little Rock he assumed the position of Arkansas-Texas representative of a Louisville, Kentucky, hardware firm.

In 1894 Jason Sowell built a house for himself, his daughter, and her husband at 1320 Cumberland Street in Little Rock.  In 1894, Cumberland Street was considered the “elite” section of town, and residence in the area symbolized social and/or financial success.

The Chisums had one son, O. C. Chisum, Jr., who was born June 13, 1899.  He attended the University of Illinois and later was employed with the Internal Revenue Service.  O. C. Chisum, Jr., was the first member of the Arkansas Industrial Board which was created in 1927 by the Arkansas General Assembly.

O. C. Chisum, Sr., lived in the Chisum House until his death in 1924; his son, O. C. Chisum, Jr., lived in the same house until his death in 1937.

The Chisum House is a significant structure in its architectural style.  It has always been one of the most unusual residences in Little Rock.  The aristocratic style of the house reflects the tastes of the man who built it and of the family it housed for many years.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1975.