Have you seen these faces?

For many of us, the Pulaski County Courthouse is a very familiar, prized historical landmark in the heart of our county seat. Yet, despite its familiarity, a subtle detail has often gone unnoticed by many longtime residents: two watchful faces, discreetly nestled on either side of the courthouse's north entrance. If you've never noticed the faces, the sadder of the two faces on the left side of the north entrance and the happier is on the right. Both faces are framed by fairly elaborate ornamental decorative elements and have intricately designed faces that include detailed eyes, teeth and facial features. Taking a closer look, one may wonder what symbolic significance these faces may have and what stories they could tell - after all, they only appear on one side of the courthouse, so it's only but natural to assume there is some kind of story. However, in asking around, the general county consensus is that there is no real, solid story regarding the faces. Simply, the story is that there is no story - but, if you are anything like me, we don't always take "no" for an answer. Thankfully, the Pulaski County Historical Society was able to assist in my slightly deeper dive into this subject, providing a March 2019 newsletter snippet that gives us a little more context on the creation of the designs.