The Duval County Courthouse was the guest speaker’s subject Monday for the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. But, the topic wasn’t centered on the new courthouse that’s awaiting certification for occupancy – it was the four previous structures that have housed the courts in Duval County.
Attorney and Jacksonville Historical Society trustee Edward Booth Jr. explained the history of courthouses in Duval County, which stretches back 170 years.
Booth said the history of legal proceedings dates back much further, to more than 400 years ago, when 65 of the French colonists at Fort Caroline staged an unsuccessful mutiny. The four ring leaders were tried, found guilty and executed, Booth said.
He said the legal community’s history in Duval County began in 1822 when it was founded in the territory of Florida. That same year, the East Florida Superior Court was established, which led to Jacksonville’s first law office in 1823.
Booth said the new court was called to order for the first time in December 1823 under some trees at the northeast corner of Forsyth and Market streets.
Two years later, construction began on the first Duval County Courthouse, which was a two-story, barn like structure. Court was first called to order in the building in 1826, even though the structure wasn’t finished until 1840.
In 1863, two years after Florida seceded from the Union, Union troops who had occupied Jacksonville during the Civil War burned the courthouse to the ground, along with all of the city’s churches.
It took 23 years for Duval County to open its second courthouse, in 1886 at the site of the original building.
“It was very similar to the historic courthouse that’s now on Centre Street in Fernandina,” Booth said.
That building served the county and its residents for 15 years until it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1901, Booth said.
Despite the devastation, court was back in session the fourth day after the fire.
“People didn’t wait for help from the government. They got things running again,” Booth said.
Less than a year later, Duval County’s third courthouse opened at the northwest corner of Forsyth and Market streets.
It was open for business until 1958, when the County Courthouse on Bay Street opened.
Most of the post-Great Fire courthouse was demolished in 1962, but an annex added to the building years after it opened became part of what is now the Yates Building on Forsyth Street, Booth said.
The courthouse that was vacated recently opened in 1958. It was built at a cost of $7 million and that budget included an adjacent jail on Liberty Street.
The building also was designed to serve as a fallout shelter, including blast-proof doors and a supply of food and water for possible victims of nuclear war.
Booth said the architecture of the Bay Street building is not treasured by historians or architects. He described it as a “big brick box” and said the historical preservation community will not mourn its demolition.
Construction of the Duval County Unified Courthouse facility began in May 2009. The building is awaiting safety certification before it can open and begin serving the residents of the county, Booth said.
He pointed out that with Duval County’s history of losing two previous courthouses to fires, it should come as no surprise that fire safety is of paramount concern before the new building is allowed to be occupied.
“Previous generations have faced considerable challenges with courthouses. I’m sure our City leaders will rise to the occasion,” Booth said.
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