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Above: The Conway County Courthouse, built between 1929 and 1930 and designed by Frank W. Gibb of Little Rock, is architecturally signifi- cant because it shows the growing influence of the Art Deco aesthetic on the Classical Revival style that swept the nation in the early 20th century.
Making a Statement Conway County courthouse touts both Classical and Art Deco elements.
Story by Mark Christ s Photos byHolly Hope Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
significant seats of county government in Arkansas, which is appropriate for a county that has been home to politicians as diverse as Marlin Hawkins and Winthrop Rockefeller. Since 1989, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program has worked with county leaders to preserve and restore the 1929-30 build- ing through the County Courthouse Restoration Grant pro- gram, which uses funds from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council. Arkansas’ Territorial Legislature created Conway County from part of Pulaski County on Oct. 20, 1825, and named it for
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ith its unique synthesis of Classical and Art Deco elements, the Conway County Courthouse at Moose and Church streets in Morrilton is one of the most architecturally
territorial Congressman Henry Wharton Conway, a member of the “family” that controlled Arkansas politics — an omen, per- haps, for the county’s later colorful political history. Cadron was made the temporary county seat until a permanent seat could be established. In 1828, county government met in the home of Stephen Harris in Welborn Township, but it moved to Lewis- burg (near the site of modern Morrilton) in 1831 and court was held in “a log building of small dimensions and rude construc- tion.” After parts of Conway County were peeled off to form Pope and Perry counties, the seat of government was moved to Springfield. Te original courthouse there was destroyed — along with most of the town — by an April 12, 1858, tornado, and a substantial two-story courthouse was built for around $10,000 the next year; this one survived for four years, only to
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016
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