Judge Berry fell ill with typhoid fever while investigating surrounding Arkansas and Missouri courthouses, and appointed J.H.

The courthouse had many construction problems in its early years, including the closing of the hydraulic elevator, rotting of basement floorboards, birds in the bell tower, and eventually too many occupants.

After relations and space grew tighter, the County Judge ordered the sheriff to evict all City of Fayetteville workers from their offices in 1927.

The Works Progress Administration praised the courthouse during a 1936 audit, mentioning the tidy offices and public access to records.

This was partially due to heroic actions during the Civil War, when county records were stored in a cave near Black Oak while the second courthouse was burned.

County Judge Witt Carter ordered the front steps of the courthouse be moved in 1947 to enable the widening and straightening of College Avenue (U.S. Route 71B).

The courthouse began incremental improvements under County Judge Vol Lester, who was instrumental to the National Register of Historic Places listing the property in 1972.

Despite these improvements, a grand jury report from the 1970s states "the building now resembles a rabbit-warren" and "the Washington County Courthouse in Fayetteville is a disgrace".

[4] The 273rd Aviation Company from Fort Sill, Oklahoma returned the clock tower in 1974, using the largest helicopter in the western world.

Newly elected County Judge Charles Johnson began large renovations, including brand-new plumbing, and removal of ad hoc offices which had been built in the hallways.

The courthouse features round-top arches over its windows, porches, and grand entrance, round towers with conical roofs, and brickwork, each characteristic of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture.

[6] Inside, the building contains glazed brick fireplaces in all offices, and ceramic mosaic floor tiles in all foyers and corridors.