AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S
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Opposite page, top: The Little River Courthouse was built in 1907. Opposite page, bottom left: Little River Judge Mike Cran- ford is working to make the historic structure more ADA compli- ant. Above: The plan calls for replacing the main doors to the building with an ADA-compliant and energy efficient entrance; installing a chair lift and new doors to provide easier access to the restrooms in the 1975 courthouse addition; and making the building’s ramp compliant. The second-floor courtroom will not be accessible since installation of an elevator is not feasible. How- ever, the first-floor courtroom will continue to serve all county res- idents. Right: The octagonal dome that towers over downtown Ashdown is the Little River County Courthouse’s crowning glory.
reasonable accommodations for the county’s mobility impaired citizens. Little River County recently received a $71,356 AHPP grant, funded by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, that will provide a chair lift and new doors to provide easier access to the courthouse’s restrooms in the building’s 1975 addition, while also replacing the main doors to the building with an ADA-compliant and energy efficient entrance. Te county also received General Improvement Fund money from the Arkansas General Assembly, along with a $38,000 Transpor- tation Assistance Program grant from the Arkansas Department of Highways and Transportation that will make the building’s ramp comply with the ADA. Cranford, who is himself mobility impaired, said that the
work will vastly improve both accessibility and safety in the courthouse. While the historic second-floor courtroom will not be accessible since installation of an elevator is not feasible, the first-floor courtroom will still provide needed services for all of Little River County’s citizens. “We try not to satisfy one need, we try to address multiple
needs,” he said. “It won’t solve the whole problem, but it’s a step in the right direction.” Te Little River County Courthouse is one of the stateli- est buildings in Ashdown. Te county was created on March 5, 1857, and named for the waterway that marks its northern
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2016
border. Te county seat bounced between Richmond and Rocky Comfort in the 19th century, the development of railroads through the area led to the founding of the new town of Ash- down, which voters made the seat of government in 1906. Little River County hired architect Sidney Stewart to design a new courthouse, and the architect used such classical elements as towering Ionic-capital columns at the east and south entrances, pediments over the first-floor entrances and a dentil course around the cornice. Te building’s crowning glory is the octago- nal dome that towers over downtown Ashdown. Te interior features elaborate woodwork, massive wooden
newel posts, a skylight in the second-floor courtroom and the Little River County seal in the middle of the first floor. Photo- graphs of every Little River County judge up to the present line the walls as visitors enter the courthouse, including that of W.D. Waldrop, who served from1923-26 and posed with a fiddle. Te current county judge boasts that the chair facing the desk in his office is the most comfortable in the county: Judge Cranford makes the claim because there is someone sitting in it every minute of every day. And the work to preserve and improve the Little River County Courthouse ensures that it will remain there for years to come.
See “COURTHOUSE” on Page 46 >>> 45
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