What to See in Benton - Top Sights and Attractions

Courthouse. The Saline County Courthouse in Benton, Arkansas is the county courthouse of Saline County. Built in 1901, the courthouse was the third built in the county. Architect Charles L. Thompson designed the building in the Romanesque Revival style, an uncommon design choice in Arkansas. The two-story brick building features a four-story clock tower at one corner, smaller towers at the other three corners, dentillated cornices, and rounded arch entrances. The courthouse has served as Saline County's seat of government since its construction.

The building features a mural, The Bauxite Mine, painted in 1942 by San Antonio, Texas, artist Julius Woeltz. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.^[1]

Theatre in Benton, Arkansas. The Royal Theatre at 111 S. Market St. in Benton, Arkansas was built in 1948-49 as an extensive renovation of a prior theatre, and is already deemed historic.

The oldest part of the theatre was part of the 1920 "Imp" (apparently for "Independent Motion Pictures") theatre. The sign and marquee of the theatre, and the rest of the 1948-49 redesign, were designed by Little Rock architects Frank Ginocchio and Edwin B. Cromwell in Moderne style. Ginocchio and Cromwell had designed a Royal Theatre in Little Rock that used the sign and marquee; they reused the material in this Benton theatre later.

In 1996 the Royal Theatre was bought and renovated by actor Jerry Van Dyke. The theatre was renovated as was most of the block that the theatre was located on. Jerry Van Dyke also added Jerry Van Dyke's Soda Shoppe, a candy store, a baseball card trading store, as well as a small antique store on the same block as the theatre. Jerry Van Dyke sold the Royal Theatre and the rest of the property in 2000 and 2001. The Royal Theatre was actually donated to the Central Arkansas Community Players, who then changed the name of the theatre to the "Royal Players" and continues to perform in it to this day

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.^[2]

Museum in Benton, Arkansas. The Gann Building is a historic building located at 218 S. Market St. in Benton, Arkansas. The building, which was built in 1893, is the only known extant building to have been built out of bauxite. Dr. Dewell Gann Sr. had the building constructed as an office for his medical practice; the building was built by his patients in lieu of payment for medical services. After his office became successful, Gann helped establish the Saline County Medical Society. Gann's son, Dewell Gann Jr. also worked in the office; Gann Jr. was a successful physician as well and was named a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1925. The office was converted to a city library in 1946, and later became a local museum in 1967.

The Gann Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 21, 1975.^[3]

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Building, at 123-125 North Market in Benton, Arkansas, is a historic building that served as an Independent Order of Odd Fellows meeting hall. E. Y. Stinson built the building in 1913 on land purchased from Saline Odd Fellows Lodge No. 174; the Odd Fellows bought the building back the following year. The Odd Fellows used the second floor of the building as a meeting hall; the ground floor was sold to a hardware store, as Odd Fellows lodges were discouraged from meeting on the ground floor of a building. During its time in the building, the Odd Fellows Lodge included several prominent local businessmen and politicians as members, including a Saline County sheriff. The lodge was also responsible for hosting major Benton social events, such as Fourth of July picnics. The lodge's membership began to decline during World War II, and it sold the building in 1971.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[4]

The Charles "Bullet" Dean Hyten House is a historic house at 211 South Main Street in Benton, Arkansas. It is a single-story Bungalow-style structure, with a hip roof that extends over its front porch. The porch is supported by square columns set on brick piers, with decorative metal latticework between the columns. Built in 1922, the house significant as the only surviving house associated with Charles Hyten and Niloak pottery. Hyten and Arthur Dovey together created a pottery process in 1909 that achieved swirling of different colors and types of clay, yet held together without shattering when baked in a kiln. The process was patented by Hyten in 1928. It was the basis of the Arts and crafts movement-era Niloak's Art pottery line.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.^[6]