One of the more interesting artifacts in the Museum is a 1936 violin, hand crafted from materials salvaged from the 1859 Clay County courthouse. This, the second courthouse in Clay County, was razed in 1934 to be replaced by a WPA project, with the county’s current edifice. Originally, court was conducted in the Owen’s Tavern, …
Clay County Courthouses In Flux
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 …