Norwood, Hal L. (Hal Lee), 1871-1958

Lawyer, judge, state legislator, and Arkansas Attorney General, of Mena, Ark..

Hal Norwood was born Henry Lee Norwood on 26 Sept. 1871 in Paraclifta, Ark. In 1892 he was elected to the Arkansas Genral Assembly. In 1894 he was elected prosecuting attorney in the Ninth Judicial District and was re-elected to that office in 1896. In 1900 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1908 he was elected Attorney General and was re-elected in 1910. In 1912 he ran unsuccessfully for governor against Joe T. Robinson and in 1913 ran unsuccessfully against Robinson for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Jeff Davis. Norwood again became Attorney General in 1928 and was re-elected in 1930 and 1932. He lost his bid for another term in 1934 to Carl Bailey, who would later become governor. Norwood resigned before his term expired to become the Arkansas state director for the Federal Home Administration, a post he held until 1937 when he returned to Mena to continue his private law practice. He served as Mena's municipal judge from 1951 until his retirement in 1957. Norwood died on 19 Feb. 1958.