As Des Arc's oldest residence, the Frith-Plunkett house reflects the prosperity of the most successful economic era (1850-62) in this rural rivertown's history. As a result of its auspicious location on the White River, a critical transportation artery in antebellum Arkansas, Des Arc's population increased dramatically during the 1850s. According to the 1850 census the town, platted just two years earlier in 1848, had only 98 citizens, but by 1960 when Des Arc was at the peak of its economic heyday the city boasted a population of 2000. Both the house's builder, John Frith, and its second owner, William A. Plunkett, were associated with this early economic history. Frith opened one of the town's first stores in the early 1850s and by the end of the decade he emerged as a prominent merchant and real estate speculator. Plunkett established a successful wholesale and retail business in Des Arc after the Civil War, a period when the once-flourishing town was beginning to decline as the railroads, which initially bypassed Des Arc, surpassed the river as prime vehicles for transporting goods across the state. The Civil War period was quite devastating for Des Arc with many buildings burned and others moved to nearby DeValls Bluff by the Union Amy, thus rendering the survival of the circa 1858 Frith-Plunkett house especially compelling. Not only historically important, the Frith-Plunkett House, retaining much of its antebellum integrity, is an important East Arkansas vernacular example of the Greek Revival style. Though essentially an I house, a traditional Arkansas form, the two-story Classically-influenced portico distinguishes this residence. The portico depicts a clear understanding of the components of the Classical Greek Revival style. Although the Classical vocabulary is interpreted in a simplified fashion, careful attention to detail and craftsmanship is evident. Both architecturally and historically significant, the Frith-Plunkett House presents a unique representation of the architecture that formed the backdrop for Des Arc's pre-Civil War development.