Conway County was organized by an act of the Territorial Legislature in October 1825, and derives its name from members of the celebrated Conway family. At that time it embraced an area of some 2,500 square miles, and included most of the territory of the present Counties of Faulkner, Van Buren, Pope, Perry and a part of Yell. This large territory was as large nearly as some of the smaller states, has been divided and carved from time to time, till the present area of Conway County is but 640 square miles or 408,060 acres. It has a situation centrally located in the state, forty miles west of Little Rock, and stretches east and west on both sides of the Arkansas river. It is bounded on the north by Van Buren, on the east by Van Buren and Faulkner, on the south by Perry, and on the west by Yell and Pope Counties.

The earliest records of the County have been destroyed so we can only copy from the State statutes. The first act of the Territorial Legislature of 1825, was to divide the County of Pulaski, and section 1 of that act reads as follows: Be it enacted, etc., etc. That all that portion of the County of Pulaski commencing on the south bank of Little Red River, between ranges 8 and 9, thence in a straight line to the northwest quarter of section 6, of township 5 north in 11 west, and thence with said line to the first waters of the Palarm Bayou, thence down said waters to its mouth, thence up the Arkansas River to where the township line of 3 north in range 14 west crosses said river, thence a southwest course to the southern boundary of Pulaski County, be erected into a separate and distinct county, to be known and called Conway County. By the same act the second Monday in January, 1826, was fixed as the time for the election of three commissioners to locate the county seat. The three commissioners to be elected were to act with James Lemmons and Thomas White, appointed by the creating act. By the same act Cadron was made the county seat until the commissioners had made the permanent selection. This act was approved October 20, 1825.

In 1827 a supplemental act was passed to permanently locate the county seat. An election was held on first Monday in January in 1828. Elisha Welborn and Wm. G. Saffold were appointed to act with the commissioners to be elected. The commissioners were authorized to solicit donations to build a court house and jail, and if enough was not raised $200 was to be appropriated out of the county treasury; if land was donated to lay same off in town lots.

By October, 1829 another act to permanently locate county seat. The legal voters were authorized to meet at Stephen Harris' house in Welborn township the first Monday in December, 1829, and after being apprised by some suitable person of the places proposed, voters were to select judges and clerk, and were to proceed to vote until a selection was made, dropping lowest place after each ballot. The house of Stephen Harris was by this act made temporary county seat. In this election all parties who had been in the county three months, and declared their intention to become citizens, were allowed to vote. William Ellis, Elisha Welborn and Thomas Burris were appointed commissioners to receive donations to build a court house and jail, and should they fail to get enough $250 was appropriated out of the county funds. A supplemental act was passed by the same Legislature, making all writs, etc., returnable to Harrisburg, binding, if the location was changed. The November term of Circuit Court was to be held at Harrisburg (Stephen Harris' residence in Welborn township). The Clerk was to remove records to the new county seat, or within four miles of same, as soon as located.

In 1831 another act was passed to remove and permanently locate county seat of Conway County. Padford Ellis, Sr., and Thomas Mathers were appointed commissioners to select two acres of ground in north half of fractional section 30, 6 north, 16 west, north of Arkansas river belonging to Nimrod Meniffee, upon which to locate court-house and jail, and take deed from Meniffee for same. They were also to take bond from Meniffec that he would build as good a court house and jail as the one in Harrisburg, in a reasonable time, not to exceed twelve months. Then the county seat should be located permanently, and the place should be known as Lewisburg. We see from a perusal of the preceding acts of the General Assembly that the first location of the seat of justice was at Cadron. This place also came within one vote of becoming the capital of the state.

In 1827 the supplemental act changed its location to Harrisburg. In 1829 the matter was again brought before the Legislature; an election was ordered, which resulted in its retention at Harrisburg, and the erection of a court house and jail at that place. In 1831 the matter was again brought before the assembly, and we judge from the text that Dr. Meniffee had donated land and agreed to erect buildings at Lewisburg, which therefore became the third county seat in that year. The earliest records of the county have been destroyed, so we only copy from the State statutes. This was a most appropriate selection, as the travel at that time was almost wholly by the Arkansas river, that great highway of the pioneers, and Lewisburg was comparatively near the geographical center of the county. The court house erected at Lewisburg by Dr. Meniffee was a log building of small dimensions and rude construction; this served till 1850, when the county seat was moved away. A portion of the territory of Conway County was cut off in 1829 to form Pope, and in 1840 much more was stricken off to make a separate county of Perry. By these changes Conway lost all of its territory south of the river and its county seat was thrown into a location far from the center, so we find that agitation to change its location soon became vigorous and strong. Reference to the records of the County Court during the forties reveal much discussion of this subject, but no action was taken until 1848, when a petition was presented by Philip W. Roberts and signed by a majority of the taxable inhabitants of the county, for the removal of the county seat. The court, after hearing the argument of counsel, ordered an election to be held the first Monday in April of 1848 for the election of commissioners to select the site.

The election was held and resulted in the selection of Anthony Hinkle and Blake Thompson. The county then comprised most of Faulkner County east, and Mr. Hinkle wished to locate it on or near the North Cadron, as, in justice to all, it would be the most central and convenient. This board, however, failed to make a selection, and their term of office expiring, another set of commissioners were selected, whose complete report entered upon the county records we copy in full:

To the Honorable County Court of Conway County:
We, Robert B. Gordon, John W. Gilbert and John H. Fryer, commissioners elected and appointed to locate the seat of justice for Conway County, in the State of Arkansas, beg leave respectfully to report to your honorable body: That after being commissioned and qualified on the 31st day of July, 1849, we did advertise, as the law directs, to meet at Lewisburg, the present county seat, fifteen days thereafter, and did meet accordingly, and proceeded from thence to select a suitable site to locate upon; and after different attempts to locate, did finally agree, on the 29th day of June, 1850, to locate upon section 11, township 7, range 15, it being near the center of the territory of said county as it now stands. The land on which we locate was donated to the county by L. W. Porter, E. W. Adams and others, to the amount of twenty three acres, which land we have had subsequently surveyed into 112 town lots, and after duly advertising to sell said lots, we did, accordingly sell, on the 21st and 22nd of October, 1850, fifty-nine lots for $778.87½ which sum is well secured by notes with approved security. We would further state that we have a comfortable court house 16x18 feet, well sealed with plank and floor laid, with a Clerk's office attached, 16x8 feet, and would respectfully invite the honorable court of Conway County to said county seat, which we have called Springfield.
John W. Gilbert...

That the above was satisfactory to the County Court the following entry will show:
It is therefore ordered by the court that this court and all other courts held in this county shall hereafter be held at the courthouse prepared by said commissioners in the Town of Springfield, the seat of justice of Conway County; and that the Clerk of Conway County is hereby ordered to remove the books, papers, seals and furniture belonging to the Clerk's office of said Conway County to Town of Springfield, as required by law; and that all processes hereafter be returned to said seat of justice; and it is further ordered by the court that the title deeds of the land taken by the commissioners, when said seat of justice is located, be filed in the Recorder's office of Conway County, and recorded as required by law.

So we find that as early as 1850 the county seat of this county seated in four different localities. An injunction prevented the removal for a few years. Springfield was looked upon as particularly suitable from its healthful situation, but at the time of its selection it was in the timber, the mearest settlement being the farm of T. W. Vennable, a half-mile away; but the town was given its start and it soon grew into a pleasant and thriving village. The original court house was retained and used till April 12, 1858, when a tornado wholly destroyed it, together with about one-half the town. The loss of the court house did not cause the people much sorrow, as a larger and more commodious one was badly needed, but the private loss to many people in the town was great.

The next year, 1859, the County Court ordered the erection of a new court house, and a neat, substantial and tasty frame building of two stories was soon completed at an expense of about $10,000. The day of usefulness of this building was, however, short, for in 1863 during the war it was destroyed by fire; County Clerk Joshua Moses, saved many of the books, having, it is believed, taken the precaution to have removed them to his home previously. In 1869 a new court house was erected on the site of the old one, the same general plan and design being followed, and it was constructed at about the same cost.

Springfield was not destined to long continue the seat of justice thereafter, and in 1873 it was again returned to Lewisburg by an act of the Legislature. The last County Court was held at Springfield in April, 1873, and adjourned to meet at Lewisburg for the next term. An act of the General Assembly about this time abolished the County County, and created the Supervisor's Court instead, and this body held its first meeting in Lewisburg in June, 1873, and so the seat of justice of Conway County was again established at that place. Prior to the selection of the county seat, and during the contest of the various localities for that honor, Lewisburg had promised to donate $5,000 with which to erect as good a court house as the old one at Springfield, and so to secure this to the county, the court on October 10, 1873, appointed W. H. Burrow, W. P. Eagan and D. B. Russell, commissioners to let the contract, supervise the work, and receive the building on completion. All the conditions and provisions were carried out, and the building completed and accepted by the county, and it answered the purpose to the satisfaction of all, till the county seat was again taken from Lewisburg in 1883, and now, we trust, permanently established at Morrilton. During this time a substantial stone jail was also erected at Lewisburg at an expense of some $10,000. The county seat was not secured by Morrilton, however, without a strong contest; for although it was conceded that it must be removed from Lewisburg, as Lewisburg had already moved itself, a number of other places in the county thought they were as well entitled to the honor as Morrilton, and in an election held to decide on a location, Solgohachie, Springfield and Plummerville divided the vote with Morrilton. The latter place received by far the largest, vote, yet, not as the law required, a majority of all; it was, therefore, necessary to have another election; Plummerville and Springfield now withdrew, and the result of the election was the selection of Morrilton by some 500 majority. Morrilton had pledged itself to erect a good and suitable court house free of expense to the county, so the County Court on September 24, appointed W. A. C. Sayle, Jefferson Wright and D. H. Thomas, commissioners, for, as entered on the records, Those whose duty it is hereby made under the order and direction of this court, and in pursuance of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas to superintend and contract for, and in the name of Conway County, the erection of all needful buildings in said new location necessary for the use of the Circuit Court, and all other courts that are required by law to be held at the county seat, preparatory to the actual removal and change from Lewisburg to Morrilton. Morrilton then appointed a building subscription committee, consisting of the three commissioners appointed by the County Court, and S. F. Speer and W. M. Clifton. These gentlemen raised the necessary funds, and at once began the erection of the court house on lots 7, 8 and 9, in block 8, of the plat of Morrilton, or on the corner of Moose and Church streets. The land (a quarter of a block) was purchased from J. T. Hannaford and William Irving. Of the care and pains of this building committee, too much praise can scarcely be given; the completed building tells the story of their economy and close attention to details better than can be done by the pen, and the citizens of the county may take satisfaction in the thought that theirs is one of the most complete and best arranged court houses in the State.

The final report of the commissioners was made April 8, 1884, and as it conveys some interesting facts, and tells the story well, we copy it in full;
Now, on this day comes W. A. C. Sayle, D. H. Thomas and Jeff Wright, and file their report as commissioners as follows: To the Honorable County Court of Conway County, Greeting: We, your commissioners appointed by this honorable court, as Court House Commissioners, for the purpose of contracting for, and the erection of a court house on lots 7, 8 and 9, in block 8, Morrilton, Ark., and to make such suggestions as we might think proper to the court, beg leave to make the following report: That immediately after being qualified as your commissioners, we proceeded to confer with the citizens' bondsmen and their committee, who had so liberally in the summer of 1883 filed a bond to erect a court house in Morrilton, equal to, and not less in size than the one at Lewisburg, in case the electors of Conway County, designated by their vote, this place as their choice for the county site. We found them in all respects ready to fulfill their obligations, and we have the honor, as your commissioners, to make this finalreport. That the citizens of Morrilton and vicinity, by their liberal subscription, have erected a much better court house than they promised, and one that cost $5,197.75, and in seating capacity and room, about one-third greater than the old house at Lewisburg. We are proud to report that Conway County, as a county, has not expended one cent towards the erection of the same, and that her good citizens cannot complain of being taxed for building it. We would further state that when said building was completed, we, as your commissioners, received the same for the county, and released the noble and generous bondsmen who had come forward so liberally, and it now stands a monument to the subscribers who erected it, and as the property of Conway County.