Pope County is named for John Pope, who was a Governor of the Arkansas Territory.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Newton County and Searcy County
E – Van Buren County and Conway County
S – Conway County and Yell County
W – Logan County and Johnson County
Created: November 2, 1829 
County Seat:
Arkansas River site 1829 – 1830
Norristown 1830 – 1840
Dover 1840 – 1888
Russellville 1888 – present
County Courthouse – Russellville
Location: 100 West Main Street / North Arkansas Avenue
Built: 1931 – 1932
Style: Art Deco
Architect: H Ray Burks
Contractor: Gordon Walker and Russellville P H Company
Description: The building faces southwest and is a three story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Russellville. The building has a raised basement as the first story. The southwest front has a central entrance on the first story. Vertical concrete pilasters extend to the top of the fourth story with large glass windows above and an eagle statue. The east and west sections are lower in height. The roof is hipped. In the interior, stairs ascend from the entrance. There is a County Circuit Court courtroom on each of the second, third and fourth stories. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial Circuit. The superintendent was M Mortensen. The Courts Building addition along the east side was constructed in 1989 to 1990. The architect was Saxton Smith Associates and the contractor was EWI, Inc. The building was renovated in 1994. The architect was Saxton Smith Associates and the contractor was Van Horn Construction, Inc.
See: The 5th Judicial District includes Franklin County and Johnson County.
History: The county was created in 1829 and the court met at the home of John Balliner on the Arkansas River. In 1830, Norristown was selected as the county seat but no courthouse was built. In 1840, the county seat was moved to Dove and the first courthouse was a log structure. The court met in churches until the second courthouse was built in Dover. The county seat was moved to Russellville in 1888 and the third courthouse built. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1931 to 1932. The Courts Building addition was constructed in 1989 to 1990.
County Courthouse – Russellville
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2011 and 2025
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