Paid in part by the
Paris Area Chamber of Commerce
301 West Walnut, Paris, Arkansas 72855
(479) 963-2244
Arkansas River Valley Tri-Peaks Region
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Area Sites-Logan County Museum "Old Jail"
On January 19, Grady reported a plan for a stone jail. Then County Judge M.P. Blair okayed $250 for the purchase of the recommended 50' X 95' lot. Conrad Elsken was the apparent low bidder for construction of the new jail at $3,890. The jail was completed in October 1886. The last man to be put to death by legal hanging in Arkansas was Arthur Tillman, who died on July 15, 1914, on the gallows beside the jail. In August 1971, the prison was adjudged no longer suitable nor safe as a prison. An agreement was made to house prisoners in Paris City Jail. A committee made up of members from the Extension Homemakers Club obtained approval of County Judge J.V. "Jim" Ward in the autumn of 1972 to convert the jail into a county museum. During the next few months, the Logan County Museum Association was organized. Operation and preservation of the building and its contents is still under the direction of this Association.
Main entrance exhibit themes change monthly. Management and upkeep of the Museum is in cooperation with the City of Paris, County of Logan, and State of Arkansas Governments and their Agencies. 202 N. Vine Street |
In January 1886, J.P. Grady was appointed commissioner to select a suitable tract of land upon which to build a new county jail. He was further ordered to draw up plans and specifications of the said new jail and to make this report to the 1886 court.
Displays on permanent exhibit at the Museum include the history of local mining, the development and demise of the county's railroads, the history and impact of the Smith family of doctors, numerous Indian artifacts, and vintage quilts and other needlework.