Area less than one acre NRHP Reference # 84000005 Founded 1910 | Built 1910 (1910) Mascot River Rat Added to NRHP 4 October 1984 | |
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Location Robert S. Moore Ave. and President St., Arkansas City, Arkansas District Arkansas City School District Architectural styles Colonial Revival architecture, Renaissance Revival architecture | ||
The Arkansas City High School was a comprehensive public high school serving students between 1910 and 2004 in Arkansas City, Arkansas, United States. Since 2004 the original 1910 building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has served as a courthouse annex for Desha County.
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Arkansas City High School (1910-1983)
Located in Desha County in southeastern Arkansas, the Arkansas City High School was built in 1910 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was designed by Arkansas architect Clyde A. Ferrell in Colonial Revival and Renaissance Revival style architecture. This building served as the high school until another building located on Arkansas Highway 4 operated between 1983 to 2004.
Courthouse Annex (2005-)
Since its closure in the mid-1980s, the facility feel in disrepair, then in 2003 a $2.2 million renovation completed in 2005 revived the structure and since then has been used as a courthose annex and while the courthouse was undergoing renovations in the early 2000s, the high school housed the county courts also.
Public education in Arkansas City
Since 2004, the McGehee School District serves Arkansas City's public education needs. Previously the Arkansas City School District served Arkansas City. The district had two schools, Arkansas City Elementary School and Arkansas City High School. The Arkansas City High School mascot was the River Rat, named so do to the town's close proximity to the Mississippi River. In 2004 the Arkansas Legislature approved a law that forced school districts with fewer than 350 students apiece to consolidate with other districts. On July 1, 2004, the Arkansas City district merged into the McGehee district. After the acquisition, the McGehee district continued to operate the Arkansas City campus (located on Arkansas Highway 4) as a K-6 school. By October 2005 the district no longer operated the Arkansas City facility.
New facility
In the mid-1980s, the school district built a new facility along Arkansas Highway 4 that served as the high school until 2004, then due to the school district consolidation, it was used as an elementary school (K-6) and known as the Arkansas City Campus of the McGehee School District.