Old Clay County Courthouse (West Virginia)

Old Clay County Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Clay, West Virginia
Coordinates:	38°27′36″N 81°5′0″W / 38.46°N 81.083333°W / 38.46; -81.083333Coordinates: 38°27′36″N 81°5′0″W / 38.46°N 81.083333°W / 38.46; -81.083333
Built:	1902
Architect:	Packard,Frank L.
Architectural style:	Beaux Arts
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	79002573
Added to NRHP:	April 20, 1979[1]

The Old Clay County Courthouse in Clay, West Virginia was designed by Frank L. Packard and built in 1902. The Beaux-Arts building was located on a hill overlooking the county seat. The courthouse was the site of three notable trials: the Sarah Ann Legg trial of 1905, the first trial of a woman in Clay County for murder, the Booger Hole trial of 1917, in which citizens nearly lynched the defendants, and the Oscar Bail trial of 1953, in which Bail was convicted of killing a mine guard in the Great Widen Coal Strike.^[2]

Since a new courthouse opened across the street, the old courthouse houses magistrate's offices and the county extension agent.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ Michael J. Pauley and Rodney S. Collins (October 27, 1978). National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Old Clay County CourthousePDF (940 KB). National Park Service.