Courthouses stand as symbol of community

Courthouses stand as symbol of community

OCTOBER 28, 2008 - The county courthouse. Oh, what stories of political deeds and misdeeds, famous and infamous crimes, and just the everyday business of county living could be told if those walls could really talk.

For most Southerners, the county courthouse stands as a symbol of their community. And while the buildings have changed through the years, the vision of civic duty and pride remains whether it’s a multi-story new building or an updated relic of the past.

Here’s a look at some of the area’s historic courthouses.

The second Alachua County courthouse shown after the roof was remodeled.

Alachua County

The Gainesville courthouse shown here is the second of four. It was built in 1885 and demolished in 1958.

Among the more celebrated trials to have occurred here was a suit for invasion of privacy filed in 1943 against Cross Creek author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who had written an unflattering description of the local census taker.

Professor Patricia Acton has written a delightful account of this "warfare of pleadings" and the spirited hearings that followed.

The historic courthouse on McIver Avenue in Macclenny dates from 1908 and was designed by the Atlanta architect Edward C. Hosford.

Baker County

 Baker County was the 39th county formed in Florida and is named for James McNair Baker, a judge and Confederate States Senator. It was established by an "act of nation" shortly after secession in 1861, but prior to Florida joining the Confederacy. The county seat, Macclenny, was renamed for its founder in 1885; originally it was known as Darbyville. From 1861 until 1886 the village of Sanderson served as county seat.

The historic courthouse on McIver Avenue in Macclenny dates from 1908 and was designed by the Atlanta architect Edward C. Hosford. A former county sheriff, Shannon Green, was murdered there.

It now houses the Emily Taber Library.

Construction of the present Baker County Courthouse was begun under the aegis of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, but was not completed until 1948.

Bradford County

Bradford County was created in 1858. The original name was "New River," the waterway which separates present-day Bradford and Union Counties. The name was changed in 1861 to memorialize Captain Richard Bradford, a Confederate officer killed in action near Pensacola. The current county seat is Starke. Two possible origins are given for the name: Governor Madison Starke Perry, and Thomas Starke, owner of a large plantation at DeLeon Springs. If the former is true, Governor Perry’s memory is twice enshrined, since the county seat of Taylor

The 1902 Bradford County courthouse was only one of a handful in the state built in the Romanesque Revival style. The postcard view  is of World War II-vintage, with soldiers from nearby Camp Blanding visible in the foreground.

County was also named for him.

The original New River/Bradford county seat was specified by the legislature as "William Roberts’s Store." A more permanent site was found in the town of Lake Butler, which is now located in Union County.

The original Lake Butler courthouse was burned in 1865, reportedly to destroy a murder indictment along with all other county records. A second courthouse burned in 1875, possibly from similar motivation. It was around this time that pressure began to mount to relocate the county seat to Starke. A referendum was held and Starke was declared the winner despite allegations of improprieties.

The first Starke courthouse utilized the second floor of a mercantile building owned by Thomas Hemingway.

By 1889, no permanent courthouse had yet been built in Starke.  Eventually a permanent courthouse was built in 1902.

The 1902 courthouse, one of a handful in the state built in the Romanesque Revival style, was constructed at a cost of $12,500 by the firm of Smith and Blackburn and is currently used by Santa Fe Community College.  A modern courthouse was constructed in 1969.

Clay County

Clay County, named for the "great compromiser" Henry Clay, was founded in 1858. The

original  county seat, as designated by legislation, was Middleburg. An 1859 election moved the seat to the "McRae House," or Whitesville, thereafter renamed Webster in honor of Daniel Webster. The selection was controversial, eventually resolved by a judge, and in 1872 this "very insecure house" was burned and with it most of the county's judicial records. The current county seat is Green Cove Springs. The latter town dates from about 1830 and is one of many in the state whose promoters wistfully reputed it the site of Ponce DeLeon's fountain of youth.

The historic Clay County Courthouse is among the state's oldest, built in 1889. Combining Italianate and Second Renaissance elements, it is constructed of stuccoed brick with a round arched entrance and arcaded porch. It was designed by A. E. McClure of Jacksonville.

Columbia County

Columbia County (the lyric name "Columbia" honors Columbus) was founded in 1832. The original county seat was the home of pioneer resident John W. Roberts in the village of Alligator. Early Columbia residents also attended court in Newnansville, the county seat of Alachua County  (which, to add to the confusion, was briefly located within Columbia County during the

The Columbia County Courthouse was built in 1905. The original construction included a  cupola and dome which were later removed, but which are visible in an old postcard view.

1830's), and one source also lists a temporary county seat at Lancaster, near Dowling Park in  present-day Suwannee County. In 1859 the name "Alligator" was changed to Lake City, in recognition of several scenic lakes in the vicinity.The original name honors a Seminole war chief rather than the reptile itself - although Lake City was the original location of the University of Florida.

The present Columbia County Courthouse, designed by architect Frank P. Milburn, was built in 1905. The original construction included a  cupola and dome.  Numerous prior courthouses, most if not all constructed from logs, fell victim to arsonists in 1848, 1860, 1867, and 1874.

Duval County

One of Florida's oldest counties, Duval was created in 1822 and named for the first territorial governor, William P. DuVal. The St. Johns River bisects the county and a fording place has existed near Jacksonville since prehistoric times. The Timucuan people called it wacca pilatka, "place where cows cross," and under British rule this became Cow Ford. In 1822 a city was platted on the site and named for Andrew Jackson, the military governor who had preceded DuVal.

Duval County's first courthouse was built in the 1840's at what is now the corner of Forsyth and Market Streets. It was burned during the Civil War. A more durable brick structure went up in 1886. According to "postcard historian" Hampton Dunn, in Jacksonville "time is measured by 'before the fire' or 'after the fire'", referring to the 1901 conflagration that wiped out the downtown. Among the first buildings reconstructed was the courthouse, which was relocated across the street from the old. The walls of the older building survived the fire, were incorporated into a new armory, and, remodeled again at mid-century, remain as part of the present-day Lanier Building.

The 1902 courthouse, designed by architect Rutledge Holmes, soon proved too small and an annex was added in 1914. Apparently the plans contemplated the possibility of adding as many as seven more stories, but this was never done. Instead, a modern courthouse was dedicated in 1958 and the 1902 courthouse was demolished; the annex was spared and, later expanded to cover the entire site, continues to house county offices.

The Nassau County Courthouse dates from 1891. It was constructed at a cost of $20,614.

Nassau County

Nassau County, established in 1824, is named for the Nassau River which separates it from neighboring Duval County. This river was in turn named for the Duchy of Nassau in present-day  Germany (as was the Bahamian capital). The name was bestowed during the British occupation of Florida, apparently in honor of the late King William III of the house of Orange-Nassau. English and Spanish battled over this region during the "War of Jenkins’s Ear."

Nassau County residents attended court in Jacksonville until the legislature designated "Nassau Court House" as the county seat. This site, also known as Nassauville, was used until 1861. The county seat was later moved to Fernandina. This is said to be the second-oldest European settlement in the United States, postdating St. Augustine by only two years.

Union County

Union County, Florida’s smallest, was created in 1921 from Bradford County. Both were originally known as New River County and this name was supposed to have been resurrected in 1921. However, a last-minute legislative change substituted "Union." Supposedly this honors the "union of states," and there are Union Counties elsewhere in America, though the bill’s sponsor was quoted as saying the residents of both counties were merely "united in asking for divorce."

The Union County courthouse dates from 1936.

The county seat, which formerly served both Union and Bradford, is Lake Butler. The town and nearby lake are named for Col. Robert Butler, who received the Spanish surrender of East Florida in 1821.

The original New River County Courthouse was located in Lake Butler. Built of wood, it stood on the site of the present Union County Courthouse, which dates from 1936. This building was constructed by the Works Progress Administration at a cost of $39,000, of which $7,000 represented county funds. The architect was John Pearson of Gainesville. Additions were constructed in 1967.