Veteran’s Memorial Building—One of DeWitt’s big hotels, the Commercial Hotel, was located on this site from at least 1913 to about 1940. It burned, and the lot sat vacant for a few years. Then the American Legion built the Veteran’s Memorial Building (next page) here in the late 1940s. It served as a community center for many years. The buff brick building features some cast concrete detailing and glass block windows, giving it a restrained Art Moderne-style influence.
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Behind 100 Court Square—Was Ronald Rawlings’s Tin Shop beginning around 1930. The Methodist Church’s first building was about one block off the square in this direction before they built a wood-frame building on W. Cross Street, sometime before 1913. The red brick Methodist Church building on Cross St. was constructed in 1923, after the previous structure burned in 1921. The 1923 building was designed by famed Arkansas architect Charles L. Thompson. The Methodist congregation constructed a new church building and moved out to Hwy. 165 in 2000.
100 Court Square—This building housed Loeb’s Department Store soon after it was built. Loeb’s was owned and operated by a Jewish family, and they sold very exclusive merchandise like Stetson Hats, Arrow Shirts, and Marx Suits (made by Hart Schaffner & Marx). In 1916 you could buy a good suit at Loeb’s for $25. Then it housed a hardware store and by the early 1950s, Kroger was located here.
106 Court Square—Built about 1915 with a tall parapet that makes it almost as tall as the two- story building to its west. This building and the identical double-storefront building at 100 Court Square feature simple recessed panels and decorative tie-rods. 106 Court Square was a hardware store in its very early years, and then it was Walt “Fibber” McGee’s Dime Store (called the Ben Franklin Store) beginning in 1938.
108-110-112 Court Square—Constructed about 1915, this building features paired second-story windows, brick corbelling at the cornice, transom windows, and a central stairway between the storefronts. By the early 1930s, Schallhorn Hardware occupied this building. William Frederick Schallhorn, Sr., moved to DeWitt from Indiana to work as a railroad agent. He opened up a hard- ware store on the square to sell products from Sears that came in on the railroad. Schallhorn Hardware was called “one of DeWitt’s oldest and most reliable establishments.” W. F. Schallhorn was also president of DeWitt Bank & Trust, mayor of DeWitt for 10-12 years, and planted the sycamore trees by the old Methodist Church. In August 1938, Schallhorn Hardware moved to the south side of the square next to the Merritt Building at 304 Court Square. All that remains of the old Schallhorn building is an empty lot surrounded by a fence. W. F. Schallhorn, Sr., was John H. Schallhorn’s grandfather. John was elected mayor of DeWitt in 1964 at the age of 24 and remained in office until 1990. After Schallhorn’s moved out of this building, it was home to P. E. Martin’s Grocery, followed by Laron Young’s Grocery. In 1956, Dr. John Hestir and Dr. Nolan Beverly established a medical office downstairs, and Dr. Shelby A. Woodiel opened a dental office upstairs in 1957. Dr. Woodiel took over Dr. E. A. Morris’s dental practice, which had been located upstairs in this building for many years. In 1963 Dr. Hestir and Dr. Woodiel moved to a new clinic at 220 W. Gibson in DeWitt.
114 Court Square—Built circa 1905, so it is the second oldest building in the district, after Leibrock’s. It was constructed to house Home Bank, which went under in 1928, and then became DeWitt Bank & Trust. The bank remained here until its new building next door was completed in 1954. Later in 1954, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Scougale moved their jewelry store into this building. It was Scougale’s Jewelers until 1962, when Charles “Chuck” Morton purchased the business. It later became DeWitt Florist. Currently, there are plans to restore this building and turn it into a restaurant/bar. This is probably the most elaborate commercial building in the district with tri- angular pediments over the second story windows, medallions in the upper façade, a decorative parapet capped with tile, and brick quoins at the corners.
134 Court Square—In the late 19th century, the town’s water pump and water tower were located on this corner lot. By 1913, there was a 2-story, wood-frame building on this site that housed a grocery and confectionary. At least part of the time it was Gordon & Toland’s Grocery. Then Vince Walton’s wife had a 10-cent store there, and Judge Brice (maybe Judge W. M. Trice?) had an office upstairs. The wood-frame building remained here until Ms. Cora Deane constructed the current one-story brick building in April 1940. This is currently Charlie Hamilton’s TV & radio repair shop. It has very nice brick detailing for a mid-century commercial building, including the bands of buff brick, the tile-capped parapet, and the six-pane transom windows. 138 Court Square—Lizzie’s was built in 1922, as you can see from the cast concrete panel in the upper façade. This building exhibits some nice brickwork with its inset rectangles of red brick with cast concrete squares at each corner. The building was constructed to house Burd’s Drug Store, and you can still see the name “Burd’s” written in tile below the plate glass windows. Then Coker–Hampton Drug Store moved to DeWitt from Stuttgart (the original Coker–Hampton remains in Stuttgart) and purchased the old Burd’s Drug Building. You can still see the name “Hampton” written in tile by the front door. At an unknown date, Hampton Drug bought the Domino Parlor, which at that time was next door in 136 Court Square, and the two businesses switched places—Hampton Drug moved to 136 Court Square, and the Domino Parlor moved to 138 Court Square (where many people remember it being located). 140-142 Court Square—The Leibrock Building (below) is the oldest building in the district with a construction date of about 1904. Although the original brick façade is obscured by blue metal siding, the building originally had second story windows with decorative hood molding, brick corbelling at the cornice, and three symmetrically-placed roofline projections. In 1913, the build- ing housed a general store with a telephone office on the second floor. By 1919, it was a barber and grocery. Doctor’s offices have historically been located upstairs, beginning with Dr. Charles William “Will” Rasco, whose family moved to DeWitt in 1896. Dr. Rasco went to medical school in Memphis and returned in 1906 to practice in DeWitt. His brother, Senator Roy Daniel Rasco, who was a lawyer by profession, also had an office upstairs for a time. Will Rasco’s son, C. W., Jr., also had an office here. Leibrock’s was a sporting goods store. Behind Leibrock’s to the west—There was a hotel behind the Leibrock Building for many years. By 1913, it was the Arlington Hotel, and then in 1919, it was the Parks (or Sparks) Hotel (post- card below), followed by the Hampton, and it finally burned when it was called the Rice Hotel. It had a large dining room and many people remember the building’s mismatched additions. |
Court SquareRather than being formed by intersecting streets, DeWitt’s court square was designed as a continuous street around a public square with one access street in the middle of each block. The northwest, northeast, and southwest corners have unique lots containing buildings with chamfered corner entrances. The town was platted in such a way that people wouldn’t just pass through the downtown and keep going—the courthouse and square would be your final des- tination. This is an extremely rare layout for a court square—I’ve never seen another town like it.
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