1874 Hempstead County Courthouse (Visitor Information Center)

The 1874 Courthouse replaced the 1836 Courthouse as the home of Hempstead County’s government, serving in that capacity until the county seat moved to Hope in 1939. This Italianate brick building housed the county court upstairs, with the offices of the county officials downstairs. This building is the Visitor Center for Historic Washington State Park and free admission to all visitors when open Tuesday--Sunday from 8am--5pm. Exhibits, park information, gift shop, and restrooms are located at this building.

Following the Civil War, Hempstead County’s Reconstruction officials voted to replace the frontier-era 1836 Courthouse. The Italianate design is believed to have been influenced by the Alamance County Courthouse in North Carolina. Contractor Ezekiel Treadway, following the architectural plans of Green and Son of Little Rock, completed construction in January 1875. The circuit court and the county clerk’s offices were located downstairs, with most of the other rooms rented out to county officers and attorneys. Most of the second floor was taken up by the county courtroom, with jury rooms in back. Citizens climbed one of two staircases in the center hallway to go upstairs, and oil lamps mounted to the doorways lit the hallways until the building was electrified in 1918. Two upstairs platforms, one at either end, allowed officials to walk out and address large crowds. A cupola, designed to hold a clock, was centered on the roof, but a clock was never installed. In 1946, a tornado damaged the copula, so badly, it was removed. By 1925, a lack of space caused the county to build an annex onto the rear, which has visible differences in the walls, floorboards, and exterior brick.

The courtyard was surrounded by a fence intended to keep roaming animals and livestock out, but gates were impractical for a public building, so local handyman William Moses was paid $6 to install six staircase-type stiles in the fence. Moses also electrified the building and installed a well in the courtyard. Wrought-iron benches were spread throughout the yard, and cedar trees lined the sidewalks to the front door while catalpa trees sat on either side of the building. The courtyard served host to numerous social gatherings for the town of Washington. A small brick building in the rear served as holding cells for the court.

Shortly after its founding in 1875, Hope’s rapid rise in both population and stature as a railroad town led to campaigns to move the county seat there. The battle was fought over five contentious election campaigns until Hope finally won in 1939. After county business moved out of the building, the Washington School District took over in 1941.

The Washington School District would use the building until they moved to a modern structure in 1976. In the 1980s, the building became the Visitor Information Center for Historic Washington State Park, and housed the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives. A 1997 renovation restored the courthouse to its nineteenth century look, including the restoration of risers in the courtroom, and the copula on the roof.

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Medearis, Mary. Washington, Arkansas : History on the Southwest Trail. Hope, Arkansas. Copies + Office Solutions, 1984.

Montgomery, Don. A History of the 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse. Journal of the Hempstead County Historical Society, ser. Winter, 1985, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 22 - 34.

Williams, Charlean Moss. The Old Town Speaks : Washington, Hempstead County, Arkansas, gateway to Texas, 1835, Confederate Capital, 1863. Houston, Texas. The Anson Jones Press, 1951.

Williams, Joshua. Washington. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2014.