The Erbach House stands just south of AETN at 405 S. Donaghey Ave. Although it is currently surrounded on all sides by UCA, this was not always the case. The university's attempts to acquire the house, and the owner's resistance, are something of a local legend.
Agnes Erbach lived in the house from 1937 until she died, died in June 2009 at age 95 as she watered flowers in the backyard. She worked in the cafeteria when UCA was Arkansas State Teachers College, and her husband was in charge of the cafeteria storeroom.
She was first approached in August of 1990 by then UCA president Winfred Thompson and was offered $32,000 for the back 3.7 acres of her property. As a later interview with her daughter, Marilyn Worm, noted, "They sent letters to my mother, and telephoned her and aggravated her a lot". The family protested the move and the board decided to table the matter.
Although at that time the use of eminent domain was considered when the offer was rejected, this idea was not explored fully until 1997 when UCA was planning to construct the Reynolds Performance Hall-AETN complex. On Monday, Dec. 1 1997 UCA's Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution to use the power of eminent domain to condemn and acquire the property if an agreement could not be reached to buy it, after an offer of $600,000 was turned down by the family. At this point the intent was to acquire the entire 6-acre plot. At the meeting Thompson told the board that UCA had approached Mrs. Erbach about buying the property several times, and her family's response had always been they were not interested. Mrs. Erbach's daughter attended the meeting and, noting her mother's age, said she had been upset by UCA's attempts to buy the property. The resolution also mentioned a proposed compromise: UCA would build parking on five of the six acres, leave Mrs. Erbach's house and the easternmost acre untouched, and give her a life estate on that part of the property. Thompson said the house would also be screened from the parking area. However, Mrs. Worm said that would also upset her mother, since Mrs. Erbach and her husband planted many of the trees that would be cut down in those five acres. Mrs. Erbach had also rejected this idea in a letter to UCA, noting "I refuse to be boxed in by paved parking. I will not look out my kitchen window and see a fence, vegetation or parked cars." Reportedly her letter was signed "one of the people in your way,"
"My mother's six acres will not cure UCA's parking problems," Mrs. Worm said. "It will only be added to the list of Mr. Thompson's land acquisitions."
After the Dec 1 meeting, the president said the university has promised the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, whose grant was funding the Reynolds Performance Hall-AETN complex that they would find additional parking to replace that blocked by the project.
As Mrs. Worm's quote demonstrated, the public impression of the Thompson presidency at UCA was that of a land-hungry institution which ignored the rights of UCA's neighbors. Thompson even penned an op-ed to the Log Cabin Democrat writing that the critical opinions voiced by many readers in letters to the editor were based on a misunderstanding that the university was attempting "to eject Mrs. Erbach from her home." He then asserted that a previous editorial had "mistakenly furthered that misimpression." Further drama around the offer was raised when the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Erbach was fired from her job at UCA, which she asserted was because she had been a vocal opponent of the university's campaign to acquire the land.
In the end the university backed down. An op-ed piece after the offer was withdrawn noted "Glad as we are that UCA has finally looked and found other options, this eminent domain issue leaves a sour taste. Was it merely an attempt to intimidate? Does anyone really believe the board would have voted to condemn Mrs. Erbach's land? [...] At best, consideration of eminent domain in this issue was merely a dumb mistake. Maybe Dr. Thompson and the board grossly underestimated how beastly it would make UCA look to put itself in the position of expropriating property from Mrs. Erbach. (Go Bears!) At worst, it was an attempt to intimidate and if so, that's reprehensible, not to mention an utter failure. Mrs. Erbach proved to be quite the bear hunter herself. Funny how people who have lived through a Depression, a few wars, and many difficult times simply can't be intimidated."
Agnes Carria Strain Erbach passed away Monday, June 22, 2009. She was born Jan. 8, 1914, in Rosebud, a daughter of the late Porter Chester and Jewel Ramer Strain.
After her passing, the University once again took up the matter of acquiring the land. A letter was sent to her heirs, and they responded with some degree of interest.
