Arkansas Listings in the National Register of Historic Places

Abstract

The Courthouses of Architect Clyde A. Ferrell ARKANSAS HAS BEEN BLESSED with more than its fair share of gifted architects. A. O. Clarke, E. Fay Jones, and Charles Thompson are just a few of the more widely known. But other less celebrated, yet extremely talented, architects have also had a great impact on Arkansas's built environment. Clyde A. Ferrell is of them. Ferrell was bom March 10, 1879, in Augusta, As a child he moved to Little Rock, where he entered the public school system and graduated from Peabody High School in June 1897. In his application to the Arkansas State Board of Architects, Ferrell left the higher education section blank, indicating that he never received formal training as an architect. However, his work experience provided him with more than sufficient instruction. Before opening his own practice, Ferrell worked for thirteen years as a draftsman for prominent Little Rock architect Frank Gibb. Gibb designed ten of Arkansas's county courthouses and a multitude of other buildings, including the Joseph Taylor Robinson House in Little Rock. Working for Gibb certainly allowed Ferrell to participate in projects far exceeding the scope of anything in which he would have been involved as a student. The largest body of Ferrell's documented work consists of various types of public buildings. Ferrell seems to have specialized in the design of school buildings. Seven of them have been documented by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, and three were subsequently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Arkansas City High School (listed October 10, 1984), Portia School (listed December 13, 1978), and Washington High School (listed June 20, 1972). While Ferrell's buildings are some of the most attractive historic school facilities in the state and are exemplary models of school design, they typically follow a standardized plan. Most Ferrell schools are easily distinguished by a projecting central bay topped with a classically inspired pediment. Other common features include brick quoins at the building's corners and diamond-shaped limestone inlays dividing the first-story and second-story windows. Unquestionably, though, the most significant structures Ferrell designed are three county courthouses, each of which is unique in the state. In 1911, Cleburne County chose plans prepared by Ferrell for the design of its new courthouse in Heber Springs. Construction was not yet underway when the quorum court reversed itself and halted the project. Construction remained on hold until late 1913, when the court levied a special one-mill tax to pay for the building. The county moved the existing wood-frame courthouse to a nearby lot in order to build the new on the already established square and, in 1914, hired Ferrell to supervise construction. Completed in 1915, the courthouse cost nearly $65,000. Ferrell had produced a beautiful example of the Colonial Revival style that was and remains the architectural gem of the county. The brick-constructed building is covered with a flat roof featuring an octagonal dome that is the courthouse's most distinguishing feature. The building's symmetrical facade is dominated by a two-story portico that extends from a recessed center bay and is supported by four massive Doric columns. The rear of the building is identical in design to the front, with the building's side elevations being much more restrained. Ferrell did an excellent job with his first courthouse commission. The building continues to serve as Cleburne County's courthouse and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1976, with the nomination calling it one of the more architecturally significant courthouses in Arkansas. In 1922, Ferrell received his next commission to build a courthouse, this time in Mountain View. Ferrell chose the Craftsman style for the Stone County Courthouse. Although Craftsman was probably the most commonly used style for residential buildings designed during the 1920s, the Stone County Courthouse holds the distinction of being the only of Arkansas's more than seventy historic courthouses to feature the popular style. …