The Courthouse at Christmas 

By Cody Berry 

Pictured above: the courthouse in present day (December 2024) lit up with Christmas lights for the holidays.

Growing up here the lighting of the Courthouse was always a favorite holiday tradition of mine. As a boy, I thought our beautiful Romanesque Courthouse was a castle, or perhaps even a cathedral like Notre Dame in Paris, France. (Which by the way is reopening this year on December 7th after the fire that greatly damaged it in April of 2019¹) It isn’t a castle and it’s certainly not a church, but it is the beating heart of Saline County’s government. The Courthouse is one of several buildings featured in our “Only the Names Have Changed” exhibit because of its role in the history of this county and because of its unique architecture. 

Pictured above: the construction crew of the Saline County Courthouse in 1901.

The Courthouse we all know is the third courthouse to sit on that square. Construction began on that courthouse in November 1901, and it was completed in August 1902.² One thing that many people may not know is that Dr. Gann, Sr and his fellow Masons played a role in the construction of the courthouse. They performed a blessing ceremony there and had a photograph taken of them standing on the building’s foundations. They even placed a time capsule in the cornerstone which wasn’t opened until the 1990’s. We have it and its contents at the Gann Museum. Some of them are on display now. 

Believe it or not the courthouse was built at a cost of $31,000 by Little Rock architect Charles Thompson, who designed it, and builder John Odum.³ Thompson’s firm designed more than 2,000 buildings during his career, 15 of which were courthouses.⁴ Probably the most distinctive feature of our Courthouse is its four-story clock tower which as a kid reminded me of London’s Elizabeth Tower which houses the famous bell called “Big Ben.” 

But there is another unique feature about the Courthouse square that goes way back. In the Gann Museum we have the original town plat of Benton from 1836. It indicates that even then two of the streets bordering the Courthouse were named Conway and Sevier. Those names come from a political dynasty that dominated Arkansas politics from its beginnings until the Civil War. They were known collectively as “The Family.”⁵1 Judge W. H. Evans, “Present Courthouse – Built 1901,” Benton Courier – Centennial Edition, March 25, 1937, p. 15.   

So, as you’re walking around Courthouse Square this winter enjoying the lights and the holiday cheer, take a minute and look at the names around you. If you’d like to see what that area looked like when Arkansas became a state in 1836, come see us at the Gann! 

Citations:

¹ Mary Winston Nicklin, “Everything you need to know about the reopening of Notre Dame,” National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/notre-dame-cathedral-reopening, Date Accessed December 2nd, 2024. 

² Judge W. H. Evans, “Present Courthouse – Built 1901,” Benton Courier – Centennial Edition, March 25, 1937, p. 15. 

³ Judge W. H. Evans, “Present Courthouse – Built 1901,” Benton Courier – Centennial Edition, March 25, 1937, p. 15. 

⁴ Charles Witsell Jr, “Charles Louis Thompson (1868-1959), CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/charles-louis-thompson-28/, Date Accessed November 20, 2024. 

⁵ Thomas A. DeBlack, “The Family (Political Dynasty),” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/the-family-political-dynasty-2666/, Date Accessed November 20, 2024.