 |
| Xenophon Overton Pindall Law Office |
XENOPHON OVERTON PINDALL LAW OFFICE, ARKANSAS CITY, DESHA COUNTY
SUMMARY
The
X. O. Pindall Law Office is being nominated to the National Register under Criteria B and C with local significance
for its association with X. O. Pindall, an acting governor of
Arkansas
, and as an excellent example of a 1880s single-story brick commercial building.
ELABORATION
In 1838,
Desha
County
was formed from
Arkansas
County
in the new state of
Arkansas
.
The first county seat was at Napoleon, a river port located at the conflux of the
Arkansas
and
Mississippi
Rivers
.
Because Napoleon was frequently flooded, the site was abandoned in the 1870's.
The county seat was first moved to
Chicot
County
in 1873, and in 1877 moved to its current location in
Arkansas
City
.
In the 1880s, when the
X.
O.
Pindall
Building
was constructed,
Arkansas
City
was the most populous community in
Desha
County
, hosting a prosperous economy fueled by timber industry and river boat traffic.
The most recognized occupant of the building was Mr. Xenophon Overton Pindall who practiced law here before becoming acting governor of
Arkansas
in 1907.
Pindall was the son of Lebbeus and Nora (Snell) Pindall.
Born in
Monroe County
,
Missouri
, he grew up in
Arkansas
where his father and uncle were well-known attorneys.
He received his law degree from the
University
of
Arkansas
and soon began the practice of law with his cousin in
Arkansas
City
in
Desha
County
. He served as deputy prosecuting attorney.
After being elected to the Arkansas State Senate in 1906, he was chosen to be its president pro tempore
.
Governor Little was forced to resign his office less than a month after his inauguration, because of a physical and emotional breakdown.
Senate president Moore served as acting governor from Feburary 1907, until May of 1907, when Pindall took over governorship in his offical duties as president of the senate.
Pindall’s term
expired
in January of 1909.
While governor, X. O. Pindall enacted a pure food and drug law, imposed a franchise tax on foreign corporations, and passed a measure designed to prevent price discrimination.
In addition to housing the
Arkansas
City
Museum
from the mid- 1960s until the early 1990s, the building once served as office space for the levee board.
SIGNIFICANCE
The X. O. Pindall Law Office is being nominated to the National Register under Criteria B and C with local significance
for its association with X. O. Pindall and as an excellent example of a 1880s single-story brick commercial building.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Information provided by Robert Moore.
August, 1997 and October, 1997
The Goodspeed Biographical and Historical Memoirs of
Eastern Arkansas
.
Chicago
Nashville
and
St. Louis
: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1890.
Herndon, Dallas T.
Centennial History of
Arkansas
. Chicago-Little Rock: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
|
