The 1836 Club resides in the historic McDonald-Wait-Newton House, more fondly known as the Packet House. Built in 1869 by Alexander McDonald who served as a U.S. Senator from 1868 to 1871, the residence remained in Arkansas until McDonald’s unsuccessful re-election bid prompted his departure.

It was next owned by William Wait and his wife, Tennessee natives renowned for their lively parties. Their love of entertaining ran so deep, they built a stage within their home to host performances and gatherings.

In 1887, Ann McHenry Reider purchased the property and moved in alongside her daughters and their husbands, the Newton brothers. For four generations, the home was affectionately called the Newton Family Home, until it was sold in 1946 to Mr. and Mrs. Latane Temple and Frank Campbell, who transformed the stately dwelling into 12 apartments.

It was the Temples who coined the name “Packet House,” inspired by the building’s vantage over the Arkansas River, once bustling with boats carrying government mail packets.

Architecturally, the McDonald-Wait-Newton House is a textbook example of Second Empire style, also known as Napoleon III architecture. Distinguished by its mansard roofs and graceful pavilions, this Victorian design flourished between 1865 and 1900 and earned the home a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.