AAC
FEATURE
Left: A New Deal-era mural entitled “Bauxite Mining” is displayed on the first floor. The mural depicting bauxite miners was created in 1941 by artist Julius Woeltz under the U.S. Treasury Departments’ Section of Fine Arts public art program. Originally installed in the Benton post office, it was restored and moved to the courthouse in 1998.
stairwell. A New Deal-era mural entitled “Bauxite Mining” is displayed on the first floor. Te mural depicting bauxite miners was created in 1941 by artist Julius Woeltz under the U.S. Treasury Departments’ Section of Fine Arts public art program. Originally installed in the Benton post office, it was restored and moved to the courthouse in 1998. Four fireplaces in varying designs are located within offices of the courthouse. Rather than wood burning forms, Sanborn fire insurance maps suggest they had gas inserts. Two of the fireplaces are of identical design consisting of shallow brick fireboxes surrounded by a wooden mantel and overmantel with beveled mirror insert. Carved Ionic columns support the mantels and overmantels and they are further embellished with a foliated swag. A second form is similar, featuring Ion- ic columns and swag, but the overmantel was excluded. Te fourth is a minimal Craftsman form with brick surround and simple wooden mantel supported by thick wooden brackets. The second-floor courtroom has been modernized, but the design of the original judge’s bench has been main- tained. The coffered hardwood bench is flanked by low paneled desks functioning as the witness bench and seating for the court reporter. The backdrop, which once provided space to store the judicial robes, features slender Ionic col- umns and projecting molding. All of these details that make the Saline County Courthouse the centerpiece of downtown Benton have been consciously retained. Saline County Judge Jeff Arey said that despite any
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2020
circumstance, Saline County will keep up the courthouse be- cause they are committed to its preservation. To this end, since 2002, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program has provid- ed the county $103,377 for masonry repairs, a new roof, fascia and foundation repairs, water mitigation, and restoration of the tile floor. In 2019, the county applied for a $33,000 grant from the AHPP to compile a preservation plan in order to ensure that the historic character of the Saline County Court- house is a continued objective. Tis is a likely circumstance as the attitude of Judge Arey is that the courthouse is an iconic building for the county, and that “as good as it gets, is as good as we are.”
Sources: Arey, Jeff. Saline County Judge, Benton, AR. Interview with author 1/07/2020. Craig, Jared. ‘Saline County.” Te Encylopedia of Arkansas.
Found at
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/saline-coun- ty-804/. Accessed 01/14/2020. Gill, John and Marjem. “On the Courthouse Square in Ar-
kansas.” (Place of publication no identified). 1980. Goodspeed Firm. “Te Goodspeed Biographical and Historical
Memoirs of Central Arkansas.” Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1889. Laster, Patricia Paulus. “Benton (Saline County).” Te En-
cyclopedia of Arkansas. Found at https://encyclopediaofarkansas. net/entries/benton-979/. Accessed 01/09/2020.
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