Howard County is named for James H Howard, who was an Arkansas State Senator.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Polk County
E – Pike County and Hempstead County
S – Hempstead County
W – Sevier County and Polk County
Created: April 17, 1873
County Seat:
Centre Point 1873 – 1905
Nashville 1905 – present
County Courthouse – Nashville
Location: 421 North Main Street / Bishop Street
Built: 1938 – 1939
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Erhart & Eichenbaum of Little Rock
Contractor: E V Bird. of Fayetteville
Description: The building faces east and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Nashville. The east front has a black colored stone frame around the central entrance on the first story. Above are vertical windows on the second story. The north and south sections project from the main building. The roof line is flat. The interior halls and stairwells are dominated by fields of original tile of all the various colors within a rich earth-tone palette. The tile covers the floors and extends up the walls to create a high dado in the hallways and stairwells. The County Circuit Court courtroom located on the second story has carved decoration above the doorways, original wood panel doors and stylized geometric decoration of the applied wood pilasters which run along the walls. The judge’s bench, recorder’s table and jury box are all original. The courtroom is the largest in Arkansas. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the West 9th Judicial Circuit and the County District Court of the 36th Judicial Circuit. This was a Work Projects Administration project.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Howard County Courthouse
See: The 9th Judicial Circuit includes Clark County, Little River Country, Pike County and Sevier County.
History: The county was created in 1873 and Centre Point was designated as the county seat. The first courthouse was a converted hotel in Centre Point. In 1905, the county seat was moved to Nashville where the second courthouse was built by F M Buxton, Banks Wright and E W Holt in 1906. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1938 to 1939 at a cost of $120,000.
County Courthouse – Nashville
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Courthouse Annex – Nashville
Photos taken 2010, 2019 and 2025
Images 15*