L. R. Wright and Company of Dallas, Texas (their low bid being $249,000.00), built the courthouse, and construction was completed on June 14, 1915.

They are built into matching white walls that stand as a stark contrast to the largely maroon-colored brick building.

[2][3] The most prominent legal cases heard in the building were the series of trials following the Elaine Massacre, the bloodiest race riot in Arkansas history.

Phillips County deputies tortured many of the inmates inside the jail section and on the roof, and prosecutors ultimately charged 122 people, all African American, with various crimes.

The famous Elaine Twelve received death sentences at the Phillips County Courthouse but ultimately were released due to controversial errors in the trial.

Its most prominent feature is a series of engaged fluted Corinthian columns, two stories in height, which line three sides of the building.