- Collection:
- Georgia County Courthouses
- Title:
- Clay County Courthouse
- Creator:
- Seibert, David, 1941-2020
- Date of Original:
- 1871/1873
- Subject:
- Courthouses--Georgia--Clay County
Courthouses--Georgia--Fort Gaines - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Clay County, Fort Gaines, 31.60924, -85.04933
- Medium:
- photographs
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Architecture Style: Italian Renaissance Revival/Neoclassical Revival/Beaux Arts Classicism/Vernacular (Greek Revival influence)
Seat Information: The 1854 legislation creating Clay County authorized the justices of the county's first inferior court to select a site to serve as county seat and to provide for erection of public buildings. The act further provided that until a county seat was selected, county elections and business be conducted in Fort Gaines. Subsequently, the inferior court judges formally designated Fort Gaines as Clay County's seat of government. The town originated as a military fort built in April 1814 at the end of the Creek Indian War. The military outpost was located on a bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River at the northern boundary of Creek lands ceded to Georgia in the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. The fort was named for Gen. Edmund Gaines (1777-1849), a Virginia military officer noted for his service in the War of 1812.. Fort Gaines fell within the boundaries of Early County, which was created from the Creek ceded lands in Dec. 1818.. The General Assembly incorporated Fort Gaines as a town on Dec. 14, 1830 (Ga. Laws 1830, p. 217).
Courthouse Details: The 1954 law creating Clay County authorized the justices of the county's first inferior court to provide for erection of a courthouse and jail. However, for the next two decades, it is not clear if a courthouse was actually built or whether the county instead rented space. In 1869 and 1870, local grand juries recommended that a county courthouse be built, and in 1870, the General Assembly authorized Clay County to hold a referendum on borrowing money to build a courthouse (Ga. Laws 1870, p. 450). Voters agreed, and construction began in 1871. Completed in 1873, the Clay County courthouse is still in use today. - External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_gacoch_clay-county-courthouse
- Digital Object URL:
- http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_gacoch_clay-county-courthouse
- Holding Institution:
- Digital Library of Georgia
- Rights:
-
