Tearing Down – Building Up!

The 2nd Clay County Courthouse was razed in 1934 to make room for the new, and still standing, courthouse. What happens to the offices and officer holders when the county was in-between buildings? They scramble and find new quarters.

In 1934 the “Old” Cockrell Building on Kansas Street at Prairie became the new “courthouse,” holding all but the county clerk and the circuit court offices. The First National Bank building on the southwest corner of the square housed the clerk of the circuit court in its basement as well as hosting circuit court proceedings.

The first floor of the building housed the county and probate courts as well as the recorder of deeds. The upper floor was home to the collector, treasurer and sheriff offices for about a year.

Below is a sketch of what the new courthouse would look like…. theoretically.

Chery Carr Holtman, curator, Clay County Museum