In 1941, Charlie May Simon and John Gould Fletcher moved into their new Little Rock home. They named it Johnswood for her husband and the surrounding woods that Fletcher had loved. They lived there together for nine years until Fletcher committed suicide in 1950. Simon remained and continued to write. Since then it has remained a standing monument of Arkansas cultural history and Simon's and Fletcher's legacy.
Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Brown and Charlotte Brown have lived in Johnswood since Simon's death in 1977. What follows are a few remembrances and recollections by the Browns about Charlie May and her home.
What was your first experience to Johnswood?
Bob Brown: "My love for Charlie May Simon began when I read her 1953 autobiography, Johnswood, during my last year in college. It was a startling eye-opener about her life with her husband, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, John Gould Fletcher, in the home that renowned architect and friend, Max Mayer, designed for them out in the country. The book explores their life at Johnswood and John's eventual suicide by drowning in a lake just off their property 10 years later in 1950. Her book is a lovely and poignant reminiscence of her life with Fletcher—writing in their home, their travels, and Little Rock in the postwar years.
"Infatuated as I was with Simon and her home, I attempted a pilgrimage to Johnswood the spring of 1963 but changed my mind at the last minute and opted instead for a visit with Adolophine Fletcher Terry, her sister-in-law, who lived in the Terry Mansion downtown. It was my mistake because, as a result, I never met Charlie May.
"When Charlotte and I learned in Washington, D.C. that Charlie May had died and Johnswood was for sale, we were captivated by the idea of buying the home. We made a trip to Little Rock and were sold on acquiring it. We bought the house in 1978, renovated and expanded it, and have lived there ever since. In 1994, we nominated Johnswood for the National Historic Register.
Charlotte Brown: "In 1978, it was as if Charlie May had just gone to the store and would be returning home shortly. Her clothes were in the closets, there was food in the refrigerator. Her writing table just off the kitchen looked like she had just finished a work in progress."
What makes the house special to you?
Charlotte Brown: "The house itself had a distinctive Santa Fe feel to it. Walls painted white. Heavy, black painted furniture, decorative tin ornaments around light fixtures. A brass chandelier graced the living room and a rose garden flourished just off the dining room. There were books on every wall in the living room and throughout the house, treasures like a Henry Moore statue, were sprinkled."
Bob Brown: "Charlie May and John were both writers, of course, and they had their two studios on opposite ends of the house where two doors could be shut between them. This provided them with a semblance of privacy. The screen porch on the east end of the house was Charlie May's favorite place to light in Late afternoons over martinis with friends. She called her view of the woods from there, 'the Gallery.'"
Both Charlie May's and John's spirit still frequent the house, the Browns are convinced. When Bob's father, Robert Brown, the Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas, blessed the house room by room in 1979, he missed the wet bar that was also John's studio. "That's where the poltergeists are," Bob says.
Bob and Charlotte remember how one day Archie House, a lawyer and close friend of the Fletchers, showed up with his arms full of their books, many of which were first editions. Since then Charlotte has dedicated a bookshelf to Charlie May's books, may of which were written while she lived at Johnswood. They include biographies of religious figures like Albert Schweitzer, Martin Buber and Teilhard de Chardin. There are also her books on homesteading in Perry county and a parade of children's books.
The Browns conclude that: "Johnswood inspired Charlie May for more than 35 years. She nurtured the house and its grounds, and it nurtured her, giving the state of Arkansas one of its greatest artists and her works of art which are all treasures."
Charlotte Banks Brown is the retired director of development of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging (8 years), and director of development of the Arkansas Arts Center (9 years). Her accomplishments include raising money from their building projects. She directed a $21 million capital campaign for the renovation and expansion of the Arts Center's facilities that opened in 2000, and she led two campaigns to secure a combined $20.6 million for Reynolds for endowment and program support that were completed in 2006 and 2011. St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and The Arkansas House of Prayer also benefited from her fundraising abilities in their capital campaigns.