File:Beautiful and historic Willowbrook Cottage at Mena, Ar, in the heart of the Ouachitas.jpg

Tucked in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains at Mena, Arkansas, is the historic home of author and one of the first female radio hosts, Vera Croft Petrocet. She had a radio show in the 1930s which addressed problems of homemaking: sort of the forerunner of Martha Stewart! Her English-style stone cottage, named “Willowbrook,” on beautifully landscaped grounds was the heart of society life of her time.

As time went by and Ms. Petrocet was widowed and then elderly, the grounds and the building fell into disrepair. The stone walls of the gardens were fallen down, and the huge stone barbeque fireplace was overrun with vines. After Ms. Petrocet’s death in 1994, the property passed into the hands of an Englishman named Thomas MacMahon, who restored the grounds and improved the cottage. He added several rooms, finished the second floor, and added two Jacuzzi bathtubs.

It has been open to the public as a vacation rental for the past ten years, with guests coming from around the US and as far as the UK.

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