Craighead County - American Courthouses

Craighead County is named for Thomas Craighead, who was a State Senator who opposed the creation of the county.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Lawrence County, Greene County and Dunklin County, Missouri

E – Mississippi County

S – Poinsett County

W – Jackson County and Lawrence County

Created: February 19, 1859

County Seat:

Jonesboro 1859 – 1883

Jonesboro 1883 – present (Western District)

Lake City 1883 – present (Eastern District)

* Craighead County has two county seats

County Courthouse – Jonesboro

Location: 511 South Main Street / West Washington Avenue

Built: 1934 – 1935

Style: Art Deco Revival

Architect: Elmer A Stuck

Contractor: Manhatan Construction Company of Muskogee, Oklahoma

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Jonesboro. The east front has a central entrance framed with stone. There is a one story southeast and northeast wing. There is stone trim along the flat roof line. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 2nd Judicial Circuit. Additions were added in 1992 and 1995.

County Courthouse Annex – Jonesboro

Location: 511 Union Street / West Jefferson Avenue

Built: 1994 – 1995

Style: Modern

Architect: Brackett-Kennerich Architects of Jonesboro

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces east and is a four story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building faces east and was completed in 1995. The building is located in the center of Jonesboro on the west side of the courthouse and is connected to the courthouse by a skywalk on the east side. On the south side is a glass one story entrance. In the interior is the large Quorum Court room along the south side of the first story. There are three County Circuit Court courtrooms. The building was remodeled and expanded in 2022 to 2024. The architect was Brackett-Kennerich and the contractor was Ramson Construction Company.

County Courthouse – Lake City

Location: 107 Cobean Boulevard / State Highway 18

Built: 1950 – 1951

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces north and is a one story red colored brick structure. The building was constructed as a bank. The county purchased the building in 1997. The building was a former bank. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 2nd Judicial Circuit.

See: The 2nd Judicial Circuit includes Clay County, Crittenden County, Greene County, Mississippi County and Poinsett County.

History: The county was created in 1859 and Jonesboro was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story frame building in 1859. This building was destroyed by fire on February 14, 1869. The fire was set by the Northern biased militia based in the courthouse. The second courthouse was a frame building just west of Court Square which was used to conduct county business until 1876 when a new frame courthouse across Union Street was completed as the third courthouse. Then, two years later, another fire destroyed the building. In 1883 the county was divided with Jonesboro being the seat of the western district and Lake City being the seat of the eastern district. The fourth courthouse was built by W C Clark in Jonesboro in 1886. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1934 to 1935. In 1883, the first courthouse in Lake City was a two story white colored wood frame structure built in 1883. An addition was built in 1934. The second and present courthouse was built in 1950 to 1951 and converted in 1997 for use as the courthouse and the first courthouse was razed in 1999.