Union County - American Courthouses

Union County is named for the concept of Union which was threatened later by the American Civil War.

Surrounding County and Parish Courthouses:

N – Ouachita County, Calhoun County and Bradley County

E – Ashley County

S – Union Parish, Louisiana and Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

W – Columbia County

Created: November 2, 1829

County Seat:

Ecore Fabre 1829 – 1837

Scarborough’s Landing 1837 – 1843

El Dorado 1843 – present

County Courthouse – El Dorado

Location: 101 North Washington Avenue / Main Street

Built: 1928 – 1929

Style: Neo-Classical

Architect: Eugene John Stern of Mann & Stern

Contractor: William Peterson of Little Rock

Description: The building faces west and is a four story gray smooth-dressed limestone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of El Dorado. The west front has a series of Ionic columns rising from the second story to the top of the third story. The building has 40 Ionic columns. The windows between the columns are recessed. There are exterior medallions of the scales of justice and lanterns. The fourth story is recessed. The roof line is flat. The interior has a large rectangular rotunda. The large County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the north side of the second story and features a walnut wainscot, tromphe l’eil painting and scoring on textured plaster walls to resemble stone, and an ornately detailed plaster cast ceiling of gilded rosettes. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 13th Judicial Circuit.

See: The 13th Judicial Circuit includes Calhoun County, Cleveland County, Columbia County, Dallas County and Ouachita County.

History: The county was created in 1829 and Ecore Fabre (Camden) was selected as the county seat. The county officers met in private homes. In 1837, the county seat was moved to Scarborough’s Landing (Champagnolle) and in 1843, moved to El Dorado. The first courthouse was built in 1844 at a cost of $200, and the second courthouse was built in 1848 at a cost of $12,000. The third courthouse was designed by Charles Thompson and constructed by R S Neal in 1901. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1928 to 1929.

Note: The lowest point in Arkansas is the Ouachita River at 55 feet ( 17 meters ) which is located in the county and Ashley County.