General Information

The Courthouse was constructed from 1890 to 1893. Both the 1890 Courthouse and

the original Clay County Jail were originally red brick (painted white or covered in

stucco several decades ago). The 1890 Historic Courthouse and Old County Jail, as

we refer to these buildings now, are located on land donated to the county by the

Gail & Marion Borden Family, of Borden Condensed Milk product fame.

The Bordens were winter visitors in 1870’s - early 1900’s to Green Cove Springs. They

owned thousands of acres in Clay County and operated a dairy near Penny Farms.

The land was donated on the condition that a courthouse and jail be built on the

property. Penelope Borden’s house is the wooden Clay County School District build-

ing on Walnut Street, now just steps away from the courthouse her family endowed.

We now refer to the triangle-shaped grounds as the Historic Triangle. It includes the

1890 Historic Courthouse, Old County Jail, Clay Archives Center, Old Railroad Depot,

Clay History Museum and TAPS Military Monument. Then and now, a beautiful, oak-

filled, shaded lawn connects these buildings.

The courthouse was the center of activity for the county. Marriages, divorces, civil

cases, criminal cases were all taken care of at the courthouse. The Tax Assessor and

the Clerk of the Court offices were housed in the courthouse, along with the Sheriff

and county judge’s offices. There was a horse stable and a hitching post for horses

and for citizens’ buggies on the grounds, too.

Criminal death penalty defendants could watch

the hanging scaffold as it was built for them from

both the courtroom and from their jail cells. Our

Archives Specialist believes seven (7) separate

executions by hanging took place around the turn

of the century at this location. Historical research

is conducted regularly on site here.

Court Cases Tried in the 1890 Historic Courthouse—Examples

The Orange Park Normal School Case: In 1896, The American Missionary

Society operated a school for African American children in Orange Park.

It was a very good school with wonderful curriculum. It was so good that

some local white parents sent their own children to the school. The problem

was, teaching white and black students together was against the law at that time. Com-

plaints were sworn and the teachers and the principal were arrested and held in the Clay

County Jail. Their lawyers bailed them out and filed motions to quash the indictments on

grounds that the law was unconstitutionally vague (6th amendment violation; void for

vagueness), the law violated their 1st Amendment rights of freedom of association and reli-

gion, and the law violated their rights to run their business as they chose, i.e., without

government interference. Judge Rhydon Call, whose picture is on the back wall of the 1890

second floor courtroom, ruled on the motions by simply writing “granted” on the motion.

With that, the Court agreed with all the reasons stated in the motion and the case against

the school’s staff was dismissed. Judge Call was a forward-thinker , opposed to the Jim Crow

laws on the books. Judge Call became a respected federal judge.

The Trial of Rufus Chesser - The Sweetheart Slayer (as the press called him): Rufus was only

17 years old when he shot and killed Sally Boyles and Thomas Dillaberry, his own brother in

law. Young Rufus was under the delusion that Sally was his sweetheart (she was not) and

that she and Thomas were having an affair (no proof of that). Anyway, one night on a dark

and lonely road from Green Cove Springs to Middleburg, he came upon Sally, Thomas,

Thomas’s sister and Thomas’s infant son in their car. He pulled out his shotgun and shot

Thomas and chased Sally down into a nearby ditch. Right before he shot Sally at point-blank

range, the witness said Sally begged him to kiss her instead of killing her. Sadly, her stall tac-

tic didn’t work. He killed her any way. Chesser faced a trial for his life and was convicted.

Several court appeals were heard, but finally he was put to death in Florida State Prison’s

death chamber at Raiford. On March 23, 1927, this 19-year-old was just the twelfth person

electrocuted in “Old Sparky”, Florida’s electric chair. The baby in the car, Thomas Dillaberry,

Jr., was unharmed and lived to be 100 years old.

The 1890 Historic Courthouse is still a real working court-

house, used daily by the Clerk’s Office award-winning Teen

Court Program. The building is also used regularly for many

public events and is available through the county for rent.

Tour groups welcomed by appointment. Call 904-371-0027.

Visit www.clayclerk.com for more information.