Clay County - American Courthouses

Clay County is named for Henry Clay, who was from Kentucky and who was a United States Representative, a United States Senator and Secretary of State.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Clinton County

E – Ray County

S – Jackson County

W – Wyandotte County, Kansas and Platte County

Created: January 2, 1822

County Seat:

Liberty 1822 – present

County Courthouse – Liberty

Location: 101 East Kansas Street / North Water Street

Built: 1935 – 1936

Style: Art Deco

Architect: Thomas Wight and Edward Drewin Wight of Kansas City

Contractor: Bliss and Duncan of Kansas City

Description: The building faces south and is a two story white colored limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Liberty. The building is 117 feet by 87 feet and has a raised basement. The south front has wide steps with entrance on the first story and has a five vertical window insets with panels between the windows, and above is decorative work with clock above. The east and west wings project. The roof line is flat. In the interior wide stairs ascend to the second story from the entrance lobby. The hallway runs east-west with large murals. The former courtroom on the north side of the second story is now the Commissioners Meeting Room. The building was a Public Works Administration project. The building now houses the county administration. An annex was built in the 1970’s. The building was renovated in 1986. The architect was Abend Singleton Associates, Inc. and the contractor was Pool and Canfield Inc.

County Justice Center – Liberty

Location: 11 South Water Street / East Mill Street

Built: 1982 – 1985

Style: Modern

Architect: Abend Singleton Associates, Inc.

Contractor: Bohnert Construction Company, Inc.

Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Liberty to the south of the courthouse. The building forms a semi-circle along the south and east side which have narrow windows. On the north side is a large recessed light orange colored entrance section with two columns and glass panel walls. The roof line is flat. In the interior is a large entrance rotunda extending up to the top of the second story with stairs ascending on the west side. On the first story are two County Circuit Court courtrooms and on the second story are seven County Circuit Court courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 7th Judicial Circuit. The building is named as the James S Rooney Justice Center.

History: The county was created in 1822 and Liberty was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built by Joseph Bright in 1831 to 1833 at a cost of $1,770. The building was destroyed by fire on March 27, 1857. The second courthouse was designed by Peter McDuff and built by Crump and Thompson in 1859 at a cost of $35,000. The present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $263,410. The County Justice Center was constructed in 1982 to 1985.