The Hornibrook Mansion, designed by Max Orlopp and Kasper Kusener, was completed using only Arkansas materials in 1888 for $20,000. It has been described in the National Register of Historic Places as the best example of ornate Victorian Architecture in Arkansas and the most important existing example of Gothic Queen Anne style regionally. Its unique architectural features;  a divided stairway, 3 1/2 story corner tower, stained glass skylight, and octagonal shaped rooms, create a massive structure representing late-nineteenth century architecture in its most flamboyant style.

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Following the Civil War, James H. Hornibrook moved from Toronto and established a profitable business as a saloon keeper. Shunned from the proper Scott Street society because of his occupation, Hornibrook waited until Angelo Marré (his competitor saloon keeper) completed his home, the Villa Marré, and proceeded to build the most extravagant dwelling in the state. Legend has it that he kept a card game going in the tower room where he could watch for raids on his establishment. Unfortunately, he died of an “apoplectic stroke” at the front gate, shortly after the mansion was finished. He was only 49 years of age. Anticipating his death, he had a death mask of Italian marble designed while on a trip to Italy and is buried in the historic Mt. Holly cemetery, in the family plot. Margaret McCully Hornibrook died two years later at age 49, purportedly of a broken heart.

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In 1897, the Hornibrook Mansion became the Arkansas Women’s College, the state’s first. Between the Depression and the early 1940’s the house stood vacant and became a nursing home in 1948. It was a private residence and apartments until 1994 when it was restored to become The Empress.