Old Clay County Courthouse

Town of Clay, Clay County

2017 Update: No updates have been made available to PAWV in the past six months.
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As of the last update provided to PAWV in January 2017, the courthouse structure did not suffer damage during the June 2016 flood.  However, many of the courthouse documents and oral histories had been stored at an off-site location that did sustain major water damage.  Some of the wet documents and pictures have been saved with the help of Dr. Karen Walker, a former Clay resident who is now an archaeologist and a collections manager with the University of Florida.  She spent ten days teaching local volunteers and historical society members how to appropriately dry out the documents and pictures, copy, and digitize them.  Approximately 100 cassette tapes of Clay County oral family histories had been saved from the flood.  A group of volunteers from the Church of Latter Day Saints (who also assisted with drying out artifacts) have offered to help set up a courthouse website to post the oral histories online.

In terms of the courthouse structure, it continues to need a great deal of work.  The foundation requires sealing; the plumbing and electrical wiring require upgrading; handicap accessibility needs to be addressed; and, most recently, the cupola is leaking water and needs to be repaired.  The subsequent water damage has caused the ceiling tiles to fall into the courtroom.  The cupola repair is the most immediate need, and the site stewards will be seeking funding for the project.

• http://www.claywvhistoricalsociety.org/home.html​

2012: Erected in 1902 under the supervision of architect Frank L. Packard, the Old Clay County Courthouse (Clay County) is the only property in Clay County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Common for its period of construction, the building is recognized for its eclectic architecture, which borrowed heavily from the Beaux Arts movement. The Clay County Landmarks Commission and Historical Society (CCLCHS) has initiated prior preservation work, but the building continues to be threatened by water infiltration in both its lower and upper portions.  The CCLCHS is working with local government officials and citizens to adapt this building to be used as a public space, museum, and repository with hopes that it can be owned, operated, and maintained by the CCLCHS.

Download 2012 Report