County revives idea of shedding one of its seats

Upkeep, staffing costs cited by Mississippi County JPs

Officials thought it was a good idea to create two Mississippi County seats more than 100 years ago, when the swampy backwaters of the Mississippi River prevented quick horse travel between Blytheville and Osceola.

But now, that tradition is costing the county plenty to keep up two courthouses, Quorum Court members say, and there's discussion of adopting one centralized location.

The 11 justices of the peace voted unanimously Tuesday to study either closing one of the courthouses in Blytheville or Osceola and refurbishing the other, or finding property for a single, new courthouse.

"JPs have talked about this for years," said Terri Brassfield, administrative assistant to County Judge Randy Carney. "But this time, they are serious. They want one courthouse due to the economic situation."

The roof on the Blytheville courthouse is in desperate need of repair, Brassfield said. Water leaks through the flat tin roof, damaging the plaster walls and creating mold. An engineer estimated that it would cost between $200,000 and $300,000 to fix the roof and other damage.

Recently, a circuit judge permanently closed off a balcony in the courtroom, fearing that it would collapse if too many people sat there.

County leaders first opened a courthouse in Osceola in 1899. Ten years later, they opened the second one in Blytheville.

The towns are about 25 miles apart -- a quick drive along Interstate 55 now -- but at the turn of the century, state law required courthouses to be accessible within one day by horse travel. Because the bottomland often flooded when the Mississippi River overflowed, access to the Osceola courthouse was limited.

There are 10 Arkansas counties with dual county seats. Along with Mississippi County, two courthouses are in Arkansas, Carroll, Clay, Craighead, Franklin, Logan, Prairie, Sebastian and Yell counties.

"Most counties in the state are strapped for cash," Justice of the Peace Bill Nelson said. "Financially, it makes sense to have one courthouse.

"We have several clerks and deputies at each courthouse," he said. "We have two assessors. It's not been financially feasible to do this for years. We keep going backward in getting income, but our spending continues to grow."

Justices of the peace discussed setting up a courthouse on the campus of a former technical college in Burdette. The small town of 129 people is east of Interstate 55 between Blytheville and Osceola.

"People do little walk-in business in the courthouses anymore," said Justice of the Peace Fred Fleeman, the chairman of the county's property and energy committee, which oversees the courthouse expenses. "People can do a lot of work online from their homes."

Still, it's an emotional issue for residents, and talk of abolishing one of the courthouses or both is sure to spark some anger, he said.

Deputies greeted justices of the peace outside the Osceola courthouse when they arrived for their monthly meeting last week, Fleeman said.

"They expected a large crowd from Osceola to show up to protest the closure," he said. "It'll be touchy when we really get into this. I expect it to get nasty."

In addition to geography, the twin courthouses were set up because of economics, politics and race, said Michael Dougan, a retired Arkansas State University professor and author of the history book Arkansas Odyssey.

"Obviously, geographically, layout had a part in it," he said. "But there were also deeper cultural reasons."

In Mississippi County's early days, growth increased along the Mississippi River where farmland was fertile because of the rich Delta soil. There was an influx of white settlers to the northern end of the county from Illinois, Ohio and Indiana seeking to make their riches in farming. The southern end was home to more blacks, Dougan said.

"They wanted land for the whites only," he said of the northern settlers. "They wanted a separate government, and that was one reason for Blytheville's courthouse then."

In Carroll County, the first courthouse was built in Berryville in 1880. But Eureka Springs became the "boom town" because of its publicized healing waters. A railroad extended tracks to Eureka Springs in 1883, but not eastward to Berryville.

The second courthouse was built in Eureka Springs to accommodate the ensuing growth, Dougan said.

Crowley's Ridge, a land formation created by blowing silt, split Clay County in half and created the need for courthouses in Piggott to the east and Corning to the west.

Although Lawrence County has only one courthouse, in Walnut Ridge, the county seat was moved from town to town several times in the county's history, Dougan said.

At various times, the northeastern Arkansas county seat was in Old Davidsonville, Powhattan, Smithville and Clover Bend.

Flooding, hills, political pull and access were all reasons for the moves, Dougan said.

"It's an extinct cultural survival tool now. It's archaic in the advent of electronic communication and highways," Dougan said. "But lots of people hold onto that idea religiously. It remains a symbol of their identity."

In Mississippi County, justices of the peace expect to discuss the courthouses again after they complete work on the county's 2015 budget, Fleeman said.

If officials decide they want to move to a new courthouse elsewhere or close one of the two existing courthouses, it will take the vote of residents to do it, he said.

"It all comes down to money," Fleeman said.

"We know it needs to be done. We've talked about it for years, but it's here now. We have to do something, and consolidation seems to be the only answer we have."

State Desk on 09/29/2014

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