This storied courthouse was once the state capital [View all]

This 1874 structure in Old Washington, Ark., once served as the Hempstead County Courthouse and seat of the Arkansas government during the Civil War.
Photo by Jerry Habraken /Texarkana Gazette.


The courthouse in Old Washington, now called Historic Washington, at 409 Franklin St., has also been used as a schoolhouse and served as the seat of the Arkansas state government for two years during the Civil War.

In 1824, Washington was designated the county seat for Hempstead County and the first one-room courthouse in Hempstead County was built in 1824 of hewn logs by Tillman L. Patterson. Within ten years local officials recognized the need for a larger building. Within two years they had set aside $1,850 for the construction of the new courthouse.

In 1936, Patterson also designed and oversaw the construction of the two-story, wood-frame courthouse that today is used as a museum. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, the new building served as the county seat for nearly forty years. During that time though, the condition and size of it often called for new buildings, and as early as 1859, Judge Milton T. Holt was being urged by many citizens to construct a new, larger courthouse.

The judge ordered plans drawn up and they were presented during late 1860 and early 1861, but before any changes could be made, Arkansas seceded from the Union on May 6, 1861. When Little Rock was captured by Union troops on September 10, 1863, the state capital was moved to Hempstead County and housed in the courthouse.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2018/dec/23/storied-courthouse-was-once-state-capital/757882/