Road Trip on April 1 was no Joke! Awesome Tour at Powhatan Historic State Park Courthouse (Posted by Ginger Smith)
Road Trip on April 1 was no Joke! Awesome Tour at Powhatan Historic State Park Courthouse
Saturday was an awesome day for a road trip, visiting two State parks in one day! The afternoon was quite a treat with a lot of good info and great tour guide, Jackson, at Powhatan Historic State Park. I encourage everyone to bundle up your family and spend the weekend visiting these historic State parks we are so proud of. They are full of history, information, and drama enough to entice the youngest to the eldest to look and listen on this grand tour of the majestic, not sleeping, but merely resting, courthouse.
My first job out of high school was working in the courthouse at Mountain Home for Nell Powell Wright. My father worked in the Independence County Courthouse years ago for the Assessor, the late I.J. Shaw, a fine man. I was quite ecstatic to begin in 1985 my 16-year career in the Independence County Courthouse. I have the utmost respect for this busy hub of legalities/rights/licenses/ordinances/resolutions/law enforcement and much more in these beautiful historic buildings. I met and made many friends for life, both employees and the good people of this county. Maybe I am prejudiced, but they are so full of history of the present and past, sometimes maybe a little about the future, of course. I almost have to go into every courthouse I see anywhere!
I previously attended a bustling presentation at this beautiful courthouse a couple of years ago about the role women played in the Civil War, and I had a good day totally amazed and pleased with the subject matter and a free lunch. This past Saturday was quite different. The Courthouse stood tall and dignified as if to tell the world, I am still here! We were given a lot of info on the tour and then roamed from room to room, letting ourselves step back into time of years gone by. The top floor has to be my favorite with the courtroom with the Judge’s desk and chair up front, jurors’ seats on the right, and barriers between the audience and the court action. I wanted to sit down and wait for it to begin, it was so authentic. I was also feeling pretty good to be an American citizen of the United States of America, and right where justice was served even so many years ago. Steve Saunders, Museum Program Assistant, visited with us in his office as we lingered, so full of respect and nostalgia we didn’t want to leave! Steve has a picture on his desk of himself and his brother when he was 2 years old, sitting on the very courthouse steps he climbs every day to enter his office! The Courthouse has been artfully and authentically preserved and is waiting for you to visit! Tell them Ginger sent you! Enjoy!!
(You may read more on their FB, i.e.) Powhatan Historic State Park (formerly Powhatan Courthouse State Park) is a 9.1-acre (3.7 ha) Arkansas state park in Lawrence County, Arkansas in the United States. The park contains the 1888 Powhatan courthouse which served as the home of county government from 1869-1968.[2] Today the structure displays items of cultural and historical significance and hosts the park’s Visitor Center. The park includes four additional historical buildings and the Arkansas History Commission’s Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives. A tour of the historic structures is available.[2][3] Powhatan served as an important stop for traffic on the Black River until the installation of the Kansas City-Memphis Railwayline two miles north in 1883 significantly decreased the need for river transportation.[4]
The community was the economic hub of Lawrence County before its first platting in 1849. Situated on the Black River, the community took advantage of river traffic both along the river and as a ferry point for crossing the river. The Military Road passed nearby in the 1830s, and the local economy flourished. The Civil War shut down commerce on the river, especially after the Union acquired Arkansas. Skirmishes throughout the region caused havoc for residents, but a slow recovery began to take place following the war. County government was relocated to Powhatan from Clover Bend, a decision greatly helping Powhatan recover.
Following the natural contours of the land, the Kansas City-Memphis Railway crossed the Black River two moles north of Powhatan through the town of Black Rock,ultimately causing the decline of commercial traffic to Powhatan. The Lawrence County judiciary chose to split in 1887, allowing court to be held in Walnut Ridge and Powhatan. US Route 63 (US 63) was rerouted to bypass Powhatan in the 1950s with the building of the new bridge spanning the Black River, and all county government moved to Walnut Ridge in 1968.[5]
