Although one of the most recognizable landmarks on the
horizons of Northwest Arkansas, the clock tower of the Historic Washington
County Courthouse didn’t always point to the sky.
In the early 1960s, the original wood-frame steeple began showing its wear. The county, then under the administration of County Judge Gene Thrasher, determined that the steeple's structural integrity required it to be replaced.
It was removed in 1965, and then the tower stood flat-topped for nearly a decade, during which time the courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places, a fire alarm system was installed and drop ceilings were added to the circuit courtroom.
A new steeple was fabricated in Springdale and lifted into place by an Army helicopter from Oklahoma. Sometime during the same time period, the original black faces of the clock were replaced with white, translucent faces allowing the illumination of the clocks.