Passmore House

The original Passmore House was much smaller than the house you see today. Alleged to be the oldest home in Hot Springs it was built in 1873 by Dr. William Pauldin Passmore. He supervised construction and designed the house himself.

William Passmore was a first-class druggist and one of the prominent citizens of Hot Springs. He had a hand in the promotion of Hot Springs as a world-class health spa retreat.

Located at the bottom of North Mountain, it is a culmination of different additions made over the course of a few decades. Originally the house looked like the picture below.

The home was passed down through the Passmore family for generations with the last being Mrs. Wilhelmina Lea, the granddaughter of Dr. William Passmore. She owned the home during the time when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on (October 8, 1976). She would pass a year later and plans for the house would remain in limbo.

The second family to own the home purchased it in 1981. Perhaps if the Passmore family had known what was in store they would have sold it to someone else. According to the file the city has there have been code violations dating since 2005. The neglect got worse and worse with the interior becoming uninhabitable and the outside gardens becoming dumping grounds.

After decades of neglect, the Hot Springs Board of Directors voted in September of 2024 to condemn the home, which was unanimous. After the vote an engineer entered the structure and recommended a full demolition.

“Because the owners over the past 40 years, through their neglect, have already caused the structure considerable demolition already,” Planning and Development Department Director Kathy Sellman, explaining why the vacant home and three-room outbuilding needed to come down.

But the city, board members and community wanted to see Passmore have one more chance. So the city attorney said he would do everything he could to find another viable option.

It was finally announced on November 18, 2024, that Andie Roberts who has previously restored the Cottage Court and is currently restoring the Bellaire Apartments had acquired the Passmore House. This brings a new life to the dilapidated historic home of Hot Springs that many have wanted to see saved for years. Based on the condition of the home it is likely it would have fallen in on itself within the next few years. With the condition being as bad as it is Roberts and team intend to move quickly on the cleanup and stabilizing of the structure to ensure its future.

Gallery Below of Passmore House

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