1888 Greene County
Courthouse
A
clocktower has helped turn back the hands of
time in Paragould. On July 28, 1995, the
clocktower of the Greene County Courthouse
returned to Paragould's skyline
for
the first time in 30 years.
The
clocktower had been removed in 1965 by county
officials who said that it was cheaper to remove
than to repair. For years, the clock had been
stopped at 8:25. Several times, the county
refused to spend the $1,500 needed to fix it. By
the time it was taken down, the clocktower was said
to be unsafe. (Picture courtesy of Child Art Studios in
Paragould.)
The
cupola-topped tower contained a four-faced clock
and a bell that marked every hour and half-hour.
The bell also rang to signal a 9 pm curfew that
meant all children were to be off the streets.
Since it was removed, the old bell,now silent,
has been displayed on a concrete pedestal near
the south door of the courthouse. The original
clock faces were given away, one is still in a
local garage.
During
the spring of 1995, many a passer-by watched as
a new tower was being built in the courthouse
lawn. Once finished and painted, it was raised
to the rooftop by a giant mechanical crane on
July 28, 1995.
But
before the clocktower was returned to the roof,
a crew of four workers spent almost three weeks
removing two feet of pigeon droppings from the
courthouse attic.
All in
all, the courthouse is well on its way to
returning to its original 1888 appearance. The
removal of a layer of dingy gray stucco has made
the buildings original red bricks visible for
the first time since World War I. Removal of a
1917 flat-roofed vault annex is planned.
Preservationist also hope to restore the iron
fence that was put around the court square in
1892. But further work must wait until the
county government vacates the building when the
new courthouse is completed.
It has
not been decided what offices will occupy the
old courthouse once the new one is ready. But
without the efforts of Mary Ann Schreit, the
19th century building probably would not have
survived into the 21st century. In fact, one
letter writer suggested to a local newspaper
that the county simply videotape the building
for future generations to see what it looked
like and then tear it down.
The
courthouse had been added to the National
Register of Historical Places in 1976. But
little had been done to preserve or even
maintain it. Ceilings had been lowered,
stairways moved, service windows cut, wooden
"doghouses" added. And, as the county prepared
to build a new courthouse, there were many who
thought the old one would be torn down. Many
thought that it should be torn down. But not
Mary Ann Schreit. The story of the 1888 Greene
County Courthouse is also a story about how one
person can make a
difference!
Mary
Ann Schreit didn't just believe that the old
building should be saved as it looked then, she
believed that the clocktower should be put back
on top, the stucco removed and the building
restored to its 1888 look, all as a tribute to
Greene County history.
On
August 28, 1992, she asked for help in a front
page story in the Paragould Daily
Press. Her appeal led to the formation
of the Greene County Courthouse Preservation
Society. And the rest, as they say, is history.
In 1995, Schreit and the courthouse society
received the award for Outstanding
Achievement in Preservation Advocacy
from the Historic Preservation Alliance of
Arkansas.
Meanwhile, work on the
preservation project continues including
landscaping plans for the old court square. One
feature will be a commemorative sidewalk. Each
brick will be inscribed with a name of message
designated by the donor.
The
story of how the 1888 Greene County Courthouse
even came to be in Paragould is an even older
story. That story begins a few years earlier on
September 1, 1884, when voters decided 943 to
737 to move the county seat from Gainesville to
the new railroad town of
Paragould.
Greene
County had been created by the Arkansas General
Assembly in 1833. Gainesville had been the
county seat for most of the county's existence,
having "gained" that right -- and a town name --
1840.
But,
in the early 1880s, when a new town sprang up at
the crossing of tow new railroad tracks, many
prominent citizens began making the 12-mile move
from Gainesville. The new tow would be named
Paragould to honor the presidents of the two
railroad companies, J. W. Paramore and Jay
Gould. Both rail lines had been built through
Arkansas to link Texas and St.
Louis.
Paragould was officially
incorporated in 1883. By the following year,
residents were suggesting that the Greene County
government move its offices to Paragould, too.
After Paragould won the vote, the county's
records and the heavy safe that protected them
were moved [also read 1877 Gainesville Safe
article].
Construction began in 1887. W. F.
Boon and S. R. McGinnis got the contract to
build it at a cost of $14,700. Original plans
did not include a bell in the clocktower. But
the public wanted one, so donations provided the
additional $1,000 needed. The courthouse was
completed on April 3, 1888.
On
April 3, 1993, to call attention to the
building's history and the need for its
preservation, members of the Greene County
Courthouse Preservation Society hosted a
birthday party for the building. Because of
their efforts, the 1888 Greene County Courthouse
will likely have many, many more birthdays to
celebrate -- as it continues to grow older with
Greene County.
May 1996 Greene County
Library
Greene County
Library
Greene
County Courthouse by Tim
Rand
Gary
McClure's Home Page
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