Taney County is named for Roger Brooke Taney, who was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Christian County and Douglas County
E – Ozark County
S – Marion County, Arkansas and Boone County, Arkansas
W – Stone County
Created: January 6, 1837
County Seat:
Forsyth 1837 – 1841
Bull Creek 1841 – 1845
Forsyth 1845 – present
County Courthouse – Forsyth
Location: 132 David Street / Main Street
Built: 1950 – 1951
Style: Italianate
Architect: Volney A Poulson
Contractor: George Brown
Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story cream colored stucco, cinder block and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Forsyth. The building is 116 feet square with an interior open center courtyard. The northeast front has a high square tower at the central entrance with a large arched window. The upper part of the first story extends out from the building and the second story is recessed with a similar overhang. In the interior the Commissioners Meeting Room is located on the southeast side of the first story and was formerly the courtroom. The building was enlarged in 1990. The architect was Hood-Rich Inc. and the contractor was Unistructures, Inc.
County Judicial Center – Forsyth
Location: 240 Main Street / Short Street
Built: 2007 – 2008
Style: Modern
Architect: HMN Architects and Butler Rosenbury
Contractor: Septagon Construction Management
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the southeast of the courthouse. The west front has a square glass and brick tower. The first story is recessed with brick pillars along the north side. The roof line is flat. Along the east side is the attached County Jail. In the interior, the hallway runs east-west with central stairs ascending to the second story. The three County Circuit Court courtrooms are located along the south side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 46th Judicial Circuit.
History: The county was created in 1837 and Forsyth (Swan Creek) was selected as the county seat. The first courts met in private homes. The first courthouse was a log structure built at the mouth of Swan Creek (Forsyth). In 1841, the county seat was moved to Bull Creek. The second courthouse was a log structure built in 1841. The county seat was moved back to Forsyth in 1845. The third courthouse was a three story brick structure built by Larkin W Selsor in 1855 at a cost of $3,600. The building was destroyed by fire on December 19, 1885. The fourth courthouse was designed by James A Barton of Springfield and built by Larkin W Selsor in 1889 to 1891. The superintendent was A D Prather and the John H Parrish. An addition was built in 1914. The fifth courthouse was constructed in 1950 to 1951 at a cost of $66,912. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 2007 to 2008.
County Courthouse – Forsyth
County Commissioners Meeting Room
County Judicial Center – Forsyth
Photos taken 2009 and 2023
Images 24