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Woman Attempting To Raise $1 Million To Save Historic Rogers Funeral Home

ROGERS (KFSM) — A local historic home was built in the late 1800s and then renovated in the early 1900s to become a funeral home, and now it’s for s...

ROGERS (KFSM) -- A local historic home was built in the late 1800s and then renovated in the early 1900s to become a funeral home, and now it's for sale.

It’s located at 408 W. Walnut St.,  just outside of the historic district.

In 1912, A.D. Callison bought the building and two years late it became Callison’s undertaking company. Along with the funeral home, Callison brought the first motorized hearse to Rogers in 1917.

The historic funeral home in downtown Rogers has been sitting vacant and on the market for more than a year. Now one woman is trying to raise the money to buy the home to keep it from being torn down.

The home has been sitting vacant and on the market for more than a year, and now Allyssa Riley is trying to raise the money to buy the home to keep it from being torn down.

“I'm trying to save this house because it's absolutely gorgeous, and it would be such a pity for downtown Rogers to lose this house,” Riley said. “This whole street was line with houses like this until the 1960s when they decided progress needed to take place, and they ripped them all down.”

Riley said this is one of the last homes of its kind in Rogers, and she's afraid someone will buy it and tear it down to turn into a business.

It's been on the market since 2014, and Riley said she's been trying to buy it since day one.

“I couldn't find the funding before,” Riley said. “It's just too much for an average person's salary to buy really with also the cost of having to fix it up.”

The home is listed for more than $400,000, and Riley has created a GoFundMe, hoping to raise $1 million to buy the home and turn it into a bed and breakfast.

“The lot actually goes all the way back to the next street, so you could build on it or I was thinking maybe a botanical garden people could come visit,” Riley said.

Riley said she just wants people to be able to enjoy the home and its history for years to come.

“I hope to inspire somebody else to come and save it if I can't do it myself,” Riley said.

She also added that there are some ghost stories that go along with the house like the woman in blue who would mysteriously show up at viewings.

You can donate to the GoFundMe here.

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