When territorial status was achieved in 1819, Arkansas began with only five counties -- Arkansas, Clark, Hempstead, Lawrence and Pulaski.

Searcy Landing was the Ferry Crossing on the Grand Glaise - Searcy Stagecoach Road where it crossed the Little Red River and on the West bank. French pioneer, John Fayac had received Spanish Grant #2312 before 1800. The crossing was just downriver from the present bridge bf the V.F.W. on C.W. Road and the River Oaks subdivision now occupies this land.

Beeler Ferry, licensed in 1839, due north of Searcy, was on the Searcy - Batesville Road, a principal route across central Arkansas until bridges and roads were built after World War I.

White County, the second largest county in the state was created and received its name 10-23-1835 from Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee, Whig candidate for President. Searcy is the county seat and the largest community in its borders. Parent Counties Independence, Jackson, and Pulaski. Progeny County Cleburne 1883.  County Boundary Changes: Line with Pulaski changed 3 Feb 1843, part of Conway annexed 11 Jan 1853, line with Prairie defined 17 Apr 1873.)

Searcy (see Early Map) was originally called White Sulpher Springs at the time the county was formed and was the site of a health spa in the 1820's until the springs, which had three kinds of water running out of the ground - white sulpher, chalybeate and alum, dried up. In 1837, when the state Legislature formed White County, it stipulated that the seat be named Searcy. Richard Searcy born about 1796 in Tennessee and died at age 36 in 1832 and a prominent Arkansas Legislator. After the Civil War Issac M. Moore donated the area around the springs to the town as a park.

The home of David Crise, Searcy's first permanent resident, served as White County's first courthouse in 1837 until a log structure was built on land donated by James Walker and where the present courthouse stands. This was replaced about 1850 by a frame courthouse which served until 1870 when the present Georgian style building  was constructed. There were two additions, both in 1912.

The Original County courthouse (see Petition For New Courthouse Location) was completed 10 June 1839 at a cost of $138.50. The present White County Courthouse, completed in 1871 and remodeled in 1912 is the oldest courthouse in the State of Arkansas still being used for the original purpose. The first story is constructed of cut stone, while brick is used on the second story. The first story contains the County Clerk's office which has an adjacent vault room, and a separate Voter Registration Office. There is a Circuit Clerk's office with a separate vault room . The first floor was originally designed to accommodate social functions as well. The Circuit/Chancery courtroom is located on the second floor and has been recently restored to its original condition, also located there are the County Judge's office, the Treasurer's office, a jury room and the Circuit Judge's office. The third floor on the north end contains the Court Reporter's office and the State Auditor's office.. The third floor an the south end is used for record storage. The basement area on the south end is used for storage and the use of Imaging equipment by
 outside firms.

The Rialto Theater Opened in 1923 and remodeled with splashy neon lighting in the 1940s, it is one of only a few historic theaters that maintains a daily schedule, with matinees on weekends.

A large clock tower rests atop the courthouse and a bell, dated 1855, that resembles the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is in the tower.

The North basement houses the Men's bathrooms & the Boiler.

The Civil War monument located at the corner of West Arch and Spring Street, was erected in 1917 through the fund-raising efforts of the people of Searcy and White County to reflect their perception of the noble character and valor of their veterans and their cause. (The only notable action in White County during the Civil War was the battle of Whitney Lane on May 18, 1862.) The monument is among 16 in 13 Arkansas counties that have been listed in the National Register of Historical Places, the country's official list of historically significant properties.

 In 1883 W. H. Tharp, from Fayette County, TN and a graduate of the Macon Masonic College, moved to Searcy and opened the Searcy Male and Female College, the town's first attempt at coed higher education. The building which housed the school was located first on the corner of Center and Pine Streets.

A Vietnam Veteran's Memorial erected in 1989 is located on the northwest corner of the square