Prairie County - American Courthouses

Prairie County is named for the Grand Prairie of eastern Arkansas.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – White County

E – Woodruff County and Monroe County

S – Arkansas County

W – Lonoke County

Created: November 25, 1846

County Seat:

Brownsville 1846 – 1873

DeValls Bluff 1873 – present ( Southern District )

Des Arc 1875 – present ( Northern District )

* Prairie County has two county seats

County Courthouse – Des Arc

Location: 208 Court House Square / North 3rd Street

Built: 1904 – 1905

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architect: Charles Thompson

Contractor: C S Proctor

Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Des Arc. The south front has a two story porch with four white colored columns rising to a header at the top of the second story, The east and west corner sections slightly project from the building. On the center of the hipped roof is a raised dormer and at the center rises a high square red colored brick clock tower. In the interior the County Circuit Court courtroom is located along the west side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 17h Judicial Circuit. The building burned in 1911 and was rebuilt in 1913. The architect was R P Morrison and the contractor was C S Proctor.

County Courthouse – DeValls Bluff

Location: 123 Magnolia Street / Prairie Avenue

Built: 1910 – 1911

Style: Classical Revival and Art Deco

Architect: H J Harker

Contractor: C S Proctor

Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of De Valls Bluff. A white colored horizontal band runs between the first and second stories. There are entrances on the south and north sides. The roof is hipped. In the interior, the hallway runs north-south. Central stairs ascend to the County Circuit Court courtroom located along the north side of the second story. The building was remolded in the 1930’s under the Works Progress Administration.

See: The 17th Judicial Circuit includes Lonoke County.

History: The county was created in 1846 and Brownsville was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was erected in 1846 in the town of Brownsville, where it remained, until 1873, when it was removed to DeValls Bluff. In 1875, the county seat was moved to Des Arc.