Clark County - American Courthouses

Clark County is named for William Clark, who was an explorer and a Governor of the Missouri Territory.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Montgomery County and Hot Spring County

E – Dallas County

S – Ouachita County and Nevada County

W – Pike County

Created: December 15, 1818

County Seat:

Caddo River 1818 – 1825

Hollywood 1825 – 1827

Biscoeville 1827 – 1831

Greenville 1831 – 1842

Arkadelphia 1842 – present

County Courthouse – Arkadelphia

Location: 419 Clay Street / South 4th Street

Built: 1899 – 1900

Style: Romanesque

Architect: Charles L Thompson of Little Rock

Contractor: R S O’Neal

Description: The building faces north and is a two story dark red colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Arkadelphia. On the northwest corner is a high six story dark red colored brick clock tower with steep roof. The north front has a central recessed arched entrance. On the northeast corner is a hexagonal tower with hexagonal roof. The roof is hipped with a dormer. The base of the building is course stone. The interior remains in excellent condition and has the original wooden trim, ceramic tile floors and wainscoting. Both large interior stairways are unaltered and have newel posts. The former courtroom is located on the south east side of second story and is now used as office space. The building was restored in 1998 after a tornado.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Clark County Courthouse

See: The 9th Judicial Circuit includes Howard County, Little River Country, Pike County and Sevier County.

County Court Complex – Arkadelphia

Location: 419 Clay Street / South 4th Street

Built: Unknown

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds along the west side of the courthouse in the center of Arkadelphia. The south front has a large arched entrance with portico supported by two white colored columns. On east side of the front is a glass panel wall. The north side has five large glass panel sections. The roof is hipped. A one story wing extends south west. A one story wing extends south west on the east side. In the interior, the County District Court courtroom is located along the east side of the first story. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located along the west side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial District and the County District Court of the 40th Judicial District. The building is named as the County Court Complex.

Note: Clark County was one of the five original administrative districts created in 1809 to 1819 being Arkansas County, Hempstead County, Lawrence County and Pulaski County.

History: The county was created in 1818 and the home of Jacob Barkman on the Caddo River was the county seat and served as the first courthouse. In 1825, Hollywood was selected as the county seat and the county government was located in the residence of Adam Stroud which served as the second courthouse. The county seat was moved to Biscoeville in 1827 and then to Greenville in 1831 where land was offered in Greenville for a courthouse and jail, but none were built. The county seat was moved to Arkadelphia (Blakelytown) in 1842 and the third courthouse, a two story brick structure was built in 1844. The building was demolished in 1899. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1899 to 1900.