Built in 1926 as part of Galloway Woman's College, the three-story brick facility was used as the primary classroom building, containing faculty offices, 29 classrooms and laboratories. Galloway women used the building for seven years and Harding students have attended class here since 1934. The furnished, versatile building was a strong selling point when Harding College moved to Searcy in 1934. Harding, which had outgrown the space in Morrilton, Arkansas, purchased the 29-acre campus with 11 buildings valued at $600,000 for a mere $75,000 — a bargain even in the 1930s. Most classes were held there until new structures were built.
The building housed science classes until Pryor-England Science Center was built in 1967. In the early '70s, the facility was remodeled to convert the third floor for the new nursing program and dedicate the first and second floors to family and consumer sciences.
In 1975 the University named it the Olen Hendrix Nursing and Home Economics Center. Olen Hendrix served as an Arkansas state senator from 1958 to 1982 and was a member of the University's Board of Trustees from 1964 until his death in 1998.
During the summer of 2006, the building's outside staircases were replaced, maintaining the original appearance. Today, the Olen Hendrix Building continues to house the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences and the interior design and architecture programs.
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