Mena District Court

Mena District Court is the Polk County District court and handles traffic infraction from throughout Polk county.

When the vice president of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (KCP&G), decided to build the first North-South railroad, a route which stretched from Kansas City, Missouri to Port Arthur, Texas; it went through Arkansas and the Ouachita mountains. A flat area was discovered near the top of Rich mountain, near Mena. When the investors of the KCP&G were notified of the attractiveness of the site as a location for a resort, featuring a grand hotel to entice railroad patrons; they decided to build a hotel which could be reached by carriage from the train station at the base of the mountain. When the establishment was completed around 1898; it was named "Wilhelmina Inn" to honor young Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and quickly dubbed the "Castle in the Sky." A suite of rooms was named for her in the hope that she might visit, but she never did. After the inn was sold to new owners it fell into disrepair and closed around 1910, whereupon it fell into further decay. In the 1950's the state legislature passed a resolution to create a new state park on the site and plans were made to build a new state park lodge, on the site of the original inn, which was completed in the early 1960's. Barely 10 years later a fire destroyed the lodge which was replaced after two years. There is an unusual site just South of town on US 71. Messiah's Mansion is a full size model of the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle as it might have appeared in the days of Moses.