The Chicot County Courthouse is a
courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
in
Lake Village, Arkansas
Lake Village is a city in and the county seat of Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,575 at the 2010 census. It is located in the Arkansas Delta. Lake Village is named for its location on Lake Chicot, an oxbow lake for ...
, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Chicot County, built in 1956. Located at the end of the
Lake Village Commercial Historic District
The Lake Village Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic commercial heart of Lake Village, Arkansas, the county seat of Chicot County in the Mississippi River delta region of southeastern Arkansas. The district covers about six s ...
along
Lake Chicot
Lake Chicot ( ) is a lake adjacent to the Mississippi River. The lake is located on the east side of Lake Village, Arkansas in Chicot County. It is not only the largest oxbow lake in North America, but the largest natural lake in Arkansas, forme ...
, the courthouse is a culturally significant landmark for both its architectural style and historical importance to the county. It was because of this dual significance that the property was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2006.
History
Chicot County was formed on October 25, 1823 from
Arkansas County, with county government first established at
Villemont. Along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, Villemont eventually eroded into the river and the county moved its government to
Columbia in 1838. After meeting a similar fate, the county again moved, this time to
Masona
Masona or Mausona (died c. 600/610) was the Bishop of Mérida and metropolitan of the province of Lusitania from about 570 (certainly by 573) until his death. He is famous for exercising ''de facto'' rule of the city of Mérida during his tenure ...
in 1855. Two years later, the county seat moved a final time to Lake Village, with county courthouse and jail facilities constructed the same year. The first Lake Village courthouse would serve for 50 years before being replaced by a
neoclassical courthouse in 1907. The 1907 structure suffered foundation problems and was replaced with the current Chicot County Courthouse in 1956.
["Tearing Down of Old Courthouse gets under way," Chicot County Spectator, July 20, 1956; "Chicot County Courthouse" in Arkansas Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=7528] Herbert Voelker and J.L. Dixon were the architects hired for the new courthouse's design. Voelker had extensive experience in public buildings in the Art Deco and
Art Moderne
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...
styles, with eleven previous county courthouses already designed in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
Cultural significance
The new county courthouse was built during a time of economic depression in the
Arkansas delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...
. Many farmers were turning to mechanization, displacing many fieldhands and laborers toward larger cities. Accompanying the rapidly declining population, the delta also began to lose accompanying industry, businesses, and services. Jack Rhodes was elected mayor in 1957, and began to turn around the city's decline with several infrastructure improvement projects and constructing new buildings.
Perhaps the region's best example of renewal during this period was the restoration of Lake Chicot. Due to silt from upstream, the lake had become polluted during this period. The lake's condition was becoming an embarrassment to the city, causing Lake Village to cancel the 1957 Chicot Water Carnival. In response to the lake's pollution problem, a meeting took place in the Chicot County Courthouse in 1968. Attending the "Lake Chicot Project" meeting were representatives from the
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) is a state agency of Arkansas, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Steve N. Wilson of Norfork, Arkansas joined the agency in 1968 and became its director in 1979. He resigned in 2000 and died in 2021. I ...
(AGFC), the
(USACE), and the Chicot County Rural Development Authority. The end result of the project was the construction of a dam, two pumping plants, sediment control, and fish stocking measures to improve the lake's scenic, environmental, and recreational value.
Because of the great impact the renewal projects had on Chicot County and the importance of the county government that instigated the improvements, the Chicot County Courthouse played a major role in the revitalization of the area during the 1960s following a period of steep decline.
See also
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References
External links
"Chicot County Courthouse" in Arkansas Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
{{National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places in Chicot County, Arkansas
Art Deco architecture in Arkansas
Government buildings completed in 1956
Buildings and structures in Chicot County, Arkansas
County courthouses in Arkansas
Historic district contributing properties in Arkansas
Lake Village, Arkansas