Tours of Jonesboro
Description
fjfjfj
The Craighead County Courthouse, an Art Deco style building located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, was constructed in 1934-1935 with the aid of funds provided by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). The Arkansas General Assembly established Craighead County and established Jonesboro as the seat in 1859. For nearly thirty years, three different buildings served as the county courthouse. In 1885, a two-story brick building with a four-story clock tower was constructed after a fire. By 1933, the building was razed and the stage was set for the new courthouse to be constructed. Elmer Stuck, a prominent local architect, designed the Depression-era courthouse. In 1995, the county expanded the courthouse with the addition of an annex of similar architectural style across Union Street. The two buildings are connected by a brick skywalk. The courthouse was inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 1998 for its association with local architectural history.
Located within the Oaklawn Cemetery, is a five-foot monument that marks the grave of United States Senator Hattie Wyatt Caraway. Ms Caraway was the woman to ever be elected to the U.S. Senate, chair a committee in the U.S. Senate. and preside over the U.S. Senate. Hattie was married to Thaddeus Caraway, a local politician who served in the US House of Representatives, and was elected in the US Senate in 1920. When he died in 1931, Hattie took over the seat, and won reelection in 1932 and 1938. She lost in 1944 to William Fulbright. The gravesite was placed on the National Register under Criterion B for national significance and Criterion C for being the grave of a historical figure of outstanding importance.
This historic building served the county from its completion in 1888 to the opening of a new courthouse in 1997. The Paragould Chamber of Commerce is currently housed in the Historic Greene County Courthouse. The county is named for Nathaniel Greene, an American General in the Revolutionary War. The city of Paragould was named by combining the names of James W. Paramore, president of the Texas-St. Louis Railroad and Jay Gould, one of the wealthiest men in the 19th century who was also a railroad magnate.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
fjfjfj