MALVERN — Hot Spring County recently received a $200,000 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program to make improvements to the county’s courthouse.
“I am tickled to get it,” County Judge Dennis Thornton said. “This is the first of many grants that I hope we receive for the betterment of Hot Spring County.
“I’ve framed a copy of that check and displayed it here on the wall,” he said, pointing to a wall near his office in the courthouse. “I hope to fill this wall with checks.”
Thornton said he applied for the AHPP County Restoration Grant shortly after he took office in January. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Funding for the courthouse restoration grants come from money collected statewide from real estate transfer taxes, and there is no requirement for matching funds from the county.
“This was the first item of business I conducted,” Thornton said. “There was a Feb. 1 deadline. It was a very difficult process, but I had the help of several volunteers, including Danna Carver, who did most of the legwork for this grant.”
Thornton said he has assembled a group of dedicated volunteers who are helping him seek grants for the county.
“I have been blessed to have these volunteers,” he said. “They come from different backgrounds and were involved in grant-writing in their fields. They are like me, … concerned about their community and see the possibilities we have here.”
Thornton said the AHPP grant is for Phase 1 of the courthouse-restoration project — a new roof.
“An assessment for the proposed restoration was developed in January by Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Architects of Little Rock,” Thornton said. “The restoration will consist of six phases, with Phase 1 being the installation of a new roof.
“A new roof is the biggest need,” Thornton said. “At this point, we are not sure if asbestos was used in the roof or not, so that will have to be determined. We do know there are three levels, [or layers], of the roof and hope this $200,000 will take care of removing and replacing those levels. If not, the roofing project will be extended into next year.
“We will have to apply each year for a grant to complete each of the six phases,” he said. “We have partnered with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program for several years — probably six or seven years.”
Additional phases of the courthouse restoration include Phase 2 — masonry cleaning, tuck pointing, caulking and sealing; Phase 3 — plumbing/water pipe replacement; Phase 4 — electrical upgrade; Phase 5 — heating, ventilation and air conditioning; and Phase 6 — window replacement.
“By the time we are finished, we will have the courthouse restored back to her natural beauty,” Thornton said, “back to what she looked liked when she first opened in 1936. She still has her original doors, windows and rails in the courtroom.”
According to information provided by Danna Carver and her husband, Pat Carver, who are members of the Hot Spring County Historical Society, the current courthouse replaced a 1888 structure. The current structure was designed by Charles Louis Thompson in the Art Deco architectural style with three stories and a basement. Construction on the building, which originally included a jail on the top floor, was completed in 1936, and the first circuit court was convened in the building on Nov. 23, 1936. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Thornton has fond memories of the courthouse.
“My grandfather on my mother’s side, Delta “Delter” Estep, brought me to the courthouse every Wednesday when I was a child,” Thornton said. “He and my grandmother, Bessie, who lived in New DeRoche, came to town every Wednesday to go to the washateria.
“We would drop Grandma off downtown, and we would come here,” Thornton said. “Grandpa was very political, very much interested in government, although he never ran for any office. He would take me into every office in this courthouse.
“I was in awe of this courthouse. I don’t know exactly why, if it was just being with him, or what. Now, 50 years later, I’m right here working in this courthouse, trying to keep it up so that some other young boy might come here with his grandfather and be in awe of its splendor and beauty.”