White County Courthouse

A striking example of Classical Revival architecture, the White County Courthouse is the oldest continuously utilized courthouse in Arkansas. The structure was built in 1871 and features a red brick and stone exterior, double-tiered porticos on the east and west sides, and a square clock tower with Venetian windows. The porticos consist of an arcade on the ground floor and pediments supported by fluted Corinthian columns. In addition to its design, the courthouse also represents the authority associated with the county government. Long a symbol of White County, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

White County was established in 1835 when it was still in the Arkansas Territory (Arkansas became a state the next year). The territorial legislature formed a commission to search for a county seat location and in 1840 the commission chose a 10-acre tract of land donated by a War of 1812 veteran, Crawford Walker. The first courthouse, a log structure, was built on the site where the current courthouse now stands. The site itself has an interesting history. The federal government awarded Walker the land after the war (all veterans received land grants) but a surveyor from Philadelphia, Israel Moore, claimed he owned it. Moore took his case to court and it went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which eventually ruled in Walker's favor. As a result, the courthouse site is the only one in the state that was determined by the Supreme Court.

During the next decade, the population had risen and it became clear that larger courthouse was needed. The second courthouse, a two-story wood-frame building, was erected in 1850. Construction of the third courthouse was scheduled to begin in April 1861 but the outbreak of the Civil War delayed the project. Courthouse functions were also forced to move to a masonic lodge, which the county eventually bought in 1869. The third and present courthouse was finally built in 1871. The north and south wings were added in 1912.

Chapel, Dan. "White County Courthouse." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. August 3, 1977. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/national-registry/WH0025-pdf.

Craig, Jared. "White County Courthouse." Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Last Updated August 27, 2020. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/white-county-courthouse-9240.