Courthouses are very important and Arkansas has a number of beautiful and historic ones, but there are also many of these wonderful buildings that are no longer standing. This is a story of one of those buildings. It was the third known courthouse for Phillips County, Arkansas and the building was located on Franklin Street between Market and Miller Streets in Helena.  Although this functioned as the courthouse less than fifty years, the building witnessed Helena's growth after the Civil War. It was also this growth that caused the building to be replaced as being too small. 

On April 27, 1869, a ceremony was held for the laying of the cornerstone of a new courthouse for Phillips County. It was an extensive ceremony featuring a procession made up of Masons, Odd Fellows, firemen and local citizens. Objects placed in the cornerstone included a Bible, a copy of the constitution, several newspapers and a sample of each kind of U.S. currency and coin. Judge Thomas B. Hanley then delivered a speech to the excited crowd.

Although good intentioned, progress on the new courthouse was slow and expenses much more than expected. In June 1869, the "Helena Weekly Clarion" noted that brick-laying on the new courthouse was suspended for a few days, on account of not having any bricks. By September, the frame of the roof was completed though. People were impressed by the imposing structure located on the hill.

In February 1870, clerks moved their offices into the new court house. The local newspaper proudly announced that citizens would no longer have to pay rent for a local building that had been serving as seat of government. To celebrate their wonderful new building, a county ball was held there. It was advertised that ten sets of dancers could be upon the floor of the upper court room at one time. There was also more room on the first floor.

Helena suffered two major disasters in 1886. First, a fire ravaged downtown and destroyed several blocks in the business district. Then, a few days later, a tornado descended on the already crippled city. Many buildings which had already suffered damage in the fire were flattened. Others that had survived the fire were also destroyed. The Phillips County courthouse was unroofed and glass doors were shattered. It would take months to repair, but years to rebuild from the double catastrophes. Sadly, the courthouse never did return to its formal glory. As early as 1900, locals began to demand something be done about the building. It was just not adequate anymore.  Over the next decade, funds would be raised and finally a new courthouse was completed in 1914. This new $300,000 structure would be opened in 1915 on Cherry Street. Supporters said it was the second best courthouse behind Pulaski in the state of Arkansas. 

With its doors locked and rooms emptied, the once highly praised former courthouse quickly lost its luster. Grass grew tall along the hillsides surrounding the building. Then about a year after closing, the old courthouse was demolished and the Solomon Playground replaced it. Where once defendants and prosecutors argued, swing sets now stood and little children laughed and played. The stairs were left though as testimony to what once had stood on that site. After awhile, people forgot about where this courthouse once stood.  Even the playground is no longer used and families who live in houses nearby go about their business never realizing they live near a historical site. Courthouses come and go, but they live on through the events which took place in them and the people who worked in them. First story on our courthouses of the Delta.

Sources:

Helena Weekly Clarion (Helena, Arkansas) 28 April 1869. Wed. Page 2

Helena Weekly Clarion (Helena, Arkansas) 16 June 1869. Wed. Page 3

Helena Weekly Clarion (Helena, Arkansas) 1 Sep. 1869. Wed. Page 3

Helena Weekly Clarion (Helena, Arkansas) 26 Jan. 1870. Wed. Page 3

Helena Weekly Clarion (Helena, Arkansas) 2 Feb. 1870. Wed. Page 3

Southern Shield (Helena, Arkansas) 11 June 1870. Sat. Page 3

Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) 31 March 1886. Wed. Page 1

Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock, Arkansas) 28 Oct. 1914. Wed. Page 10

Straub, Virginia M. "Images of Phillips County" The Helena-West Helena Daily World. Helena, Arkansas. D-Books Publishing Inc. Marceline, Missouri. 1996. Page 68.