The 1836 Club is located in the McDonald-Wait-Newton House, more popularly known as the Packet House. This historic dwelling was built in 1869 by Alexander McDonald who was a United States Senator from 1868 to 1871. He left Arkansas after losing his re-election bid.

William Wait and his wife, who moved to Arkansas from Tennessee, were next to own the residence. They were well known for their parties and frequently entertained guests that they built a stage in their home.

In 1887, Ann McHenry Reider bought the building and moved in with her daughters and their husbands, the Newton brothers. For four generations, their abode was known as the Newton Family Home until 1946 when it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Latane Temple and Frank Campbell who converted the domicile into 12 apartments.

The Temples gave the building its sobriquet, the Packet House, because it overlooked the Arkansas river well trafficked by boats filled with packets of government mail.

The architecturally significant McDonald-Wait-Newton House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.  It embodied the Second Empire architecture which was also known as the Napoleon III style. This Victorian era architecture characterized by mansard roofs and pavilions flourished between 1865 and 1900.