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Arnold Syberg
- University of Arkansas Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
ARNOLD SYBERG (sometimes spelled Syburg) was born in Prussia, came to the United States, and was on the US Army rolls by 1848; apparently he was in his early twenties. He came to the United States to work in the US Geographical Survey. Syberg was appointed a captain in the army, 11th Infantry Regiment, on April 9, 1847. His name is found in the official army register for 1848. From January 1 to August 6, 1858, he was taking measurements of the Mississippi River and its levees at Cairo, Illinois. According to his obituary in the Arkansas Democrat (March 8, 1900), Syberg had settled early on in Philadelphia, where he had married. He and his wife, Edith, had one son, Fred, who graduated from West Point. When Fred was working as an engineer for the Mexican government in Mexico City, he was shot and killed in an argument. By 1860, he and his wife were living in Little Rock. In October of that year, Ralph Leland Goodrich, a young poet and teacher, arrived in Little Rock to take up a teaching post. His diary tells us that upon landing in Little Rock, he was taken to the home of Captain and Mrs. Syberg, which was to be his boarding house. His diary entry for October 18 reads in part as follows: “Saw pictures at Mrs. Syberg’s. Captain Syberg was a Baron in Prussia— Baron von Arnold Syberg was his real name. . . . He was a Captain in the Mexican War and is now the Engineer of this State. Mrs. Syberg . . . is a great talker and they have some valuable books.” Edith Syberg died in 1862. When the Civil War began, Syberg joined the Confederacy. In 1864, Syberg reported for duty at Fort Towson and was placed in command by Albert Pike as the chief engineer of the District of the Indian Territory. After the war, he returned to Arkansas. In 1871, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation to remove “political disability” from certain people. Syberg, as a fairly recent immigrant and also a former officer in the US Army, was on that list. Incidentally, another architect on the list was Henry C. Green Sr., to be discussed in the next section. Syberg seems to have assimilated well in his adopted home. For example, he was commissioned a colonel in the Arkansas State Militia during the Brooks-Baxter War of 1874, serving as a staff officer. Later in 1874, he was appointed state geologist for Arkansas, replacing William Hazeldine. During his tenure, Syberg filed no reports and busied himself with examining material brought to his office. However, as the State Geological Surveys of the United States notes, “The failure of the surveys for the years 1868–1875 to yield any geological results must be attributed to the general demoralization of the state government during the reconstruction period.” Syberg seems to have been involved more in engineering endeavors than architectural ones. Besides the engineering posts mentioned above, in 1876 he was the city engineer for Little Rock. However, we do have one example of his work as a building designer, and it is an important one— 20 ◆ ARNOLD SYBERG Arnold Syberg the Temple B’nai Israel, constructed in 1871 and 1872, on Center Street between Third and Fourth Streets. This synagogue was replaced by a new one designed by Fred Rickon and Charles Thompson in 1897, at Capitol and Broadway, which was demolished in 1972 to clear a site for the high-rise First National Bank. Syberg died in Little Rock in 1900 and, along with his wife, is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery. ARNOLD SYBERG ◆ 21 Temple B’Nai Israel on the east side of Center Street between Third and Fourth Streets, Little Rock, Arkansas. Constructed in 1871 in the Romanesque style, it was designed by Arnold Syberg, Architect. Photograph by Charles Elias. ...