On an unseasonably warm June 3, 1895, the citizens of Monroe County celebrated the erection of a new county courthouse in Clarendon. It was built voluntarily by the citizens of the county at no cost to their government, providing vivid proof of the pride 19th-century Arkansans took in their public structures.
A survey of county courthouses shows that practically every county in the state erected impressive houses of government. Many have survived to the present, though they face uncertain futures in these days of deferred maintenance, the handmaiden of retrenchment.
Probably the oldest county courthouse still standing is Wolf House at Norfork in Baxter County, which was built in 1829 and served briefly as the seat for newly created Izard County.
Another old structure, and a beautiful one it is, is Hempstead County courthouse at Washington, built in 1840. It later served as the Confederate state capitol after Little Rock fell to the Union Army in September 1863. Washington is also home to the 1874 Hempstead County courthouse. Both of these restored buildings are open to the public and are historical treasures.
Among the most beautiful is Crawford County courthouse in Van Buren. The one at Jacksonport, on the White River near Newport, is also attractive. The Jacksonport courthouse is unique in that the original detached brick privy survives, though its fine walnut interior does not.
The Monroe County courthouse, like most of the 85 county courthouses in Arkansas, has a fascinating history which sheds light on many aspects of life along the lower White River. Monroe County, the state's 22nd, was created in November 1829. Named for President James Monroe, it was created from portions of Phillips and Arkansas counties. The first county seat was Lawrenceville; in 1856, it was moved to Clarendon on the White River.
Work began on a brick courthouse at Clarendon, but the Civil War brought an end to the project. Federal troops, after capturing Clarendon,
tore down the unfinished building and shipped the bricks up the White River to De Valls Bluff, where they were used to build military fortifications.
At the end of hostilities, Monroe County constructed a small frame courthouse with plans for a larger one later. In 1872, the county built a two-story brick courthouse, but it burned to the ground on New Year's Day 1895.
It was at this point--having seen three courthouses come and go--that the citizens called a mass meeting and voted to erect a new courthouse at no public expense, one in which they could take pride. The 1895 structure was indeed a beautiful brick seat of justice, but proved to be inadequate, and was torn down in 1911 to make way for construction of the present Monroe County courthouse.
One of the state's great architects, Charles L. Thompson of Little Rock, designed the new building, which was constructed for $118,000.
During the massive floods of 1927, when the White River swamped much of Monroe County, scores of citizens took refuge in the courthouse. The stately structure at Arkansas City in Desha County provided a haven for dozens of families too.
The family of Dorothy Price Moore was able to find lodgings in upstairs rooms at an Arkansas City hotel; they stored their furniture on one of the upper floors of the courthouse. Young Dorothy was taken to the courthouse daily by boat so she could practice her piano lessons.
The Monroe County courthouse was one of many built in the early years of the 20th century. Perhaps people were looking toward the future, but for whatever reason 24 new courthouses were built in Arkansas during the first two decades of the 1900s.
This does not include the doubling of the size of the 1887 Pulaski County courthouse in 1912, with a rotunda decorated with sculptures made by Italian craftsmen. Mississippi County, which is one of 10 counties having two seats, built beautiful courthouses at both Osceola (1912) and Blytheville (1919).
Little Rock architect Thompson designed 15 of the new courthouses. including those for Saline and Woodruff counties in 1902. A wonderful photograph of the Saline County courthouse in Benton in 1901 demonstrates the pride locals took in their public buildings.
The black-and-white photo depicts about 20 members of the Benton Masonic Lodge, all dressed formally and wearing Masonic regalia, as they posed prior to laying the building's cornerstone.
Many county courthouses have been destroyed by fires. I know of no county which has suffered so many as Searcy County. The fire which destroyed the structure in 1886 was the fourth time the courthouse had burned at that same location in the county seat of Marshall.
Many Arkansas counties replaced their courthouses during the Great Depression of the 1930s when New Deal programs financed much of the labor and materials. While architectural design is a subjective matter, I suspect that many would agree the WPA-era structures lack much of the grandeur and majesty of the earlier public buildings.
The WPA courthouses were, however, vastly superior in design and materials to the county courthouses built in recent years.
In the late Victorian era, government leaders sought to erect public buildings that would elevate the community. County courthouses are powerful symbols of democracy, and even the poorest counties build structures in which they can take pride.
Tom Dillard is a historian and retired archivist living near Glen Rose in rural Hot Spring County. Email him at [email protected]. An earlier version of this column was published June 3, 2012.