Date:  August 30, 2024  |   Story: Rebekah Hall Scott  |   Art Direction: Bailey Dougan  |  

Old Camden Post Office, also known as Postmasters Grill

At its dedication in 1896, the Camden Post Office was proclaimed to be “the finest building between Texarkana and Little Rock.” The stone and pressed-brick structure served as an important hub for the small town, which was backed by a burgeoning lumber industry. An impressive piece of architecture, it features several elements of Richardsonian Romanesque style, including its exterior molding and copper-sheathed oriel window overlooking the arched entrance.

The city post office remained in the building for nearly seven decades, until it was relocated in 1962. Offices and retail shops occupied the space for a few years, and the building was saved from a planned demolition and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was then partially renovated to house a radio station, office spaces, and a beauty shop. For a period, the local sheriff’s office criminal investigation division was located in the basement. After the building sat vacant for several years in the early 2000s, Emily Jordan-Robertson jumped at the chance to buy it in 2010. “It’s the coolest building in south Arkansas, and we just thought it was super amazing to get the opportunity to purchase it,” she says. “We did, and then when we finally closed on the building, it was like, Now what?”

Emily says she and her family, who own a local construction business, talked with residents about what they envisioned for the future of the building. “We kept coming back to how south Arkansas needed a nicer dining destination option,” she says. From there, plans for a restaurant were born, and after an 18-month renovation, Postmasters Grill opened for business.

“We wanted to maintain all of the historic character, because we just don’t have a lot of buildings with that kind of history or architectural detail in Camden,” Emily says. “We took the time and effort to replicate some of the original plaster and millwork, along with other old school touches. Hopefully, if you come to our building, you don’t really notice what is old and what is actually new.”

Illustration by Bailey Dougan