Columbia County Courthouse - Lake City Historic Commercial District - Lake City, FL
N 30° 11.421 W 082° 38.179
17R E 342472 N 3341009
The Columbia County Courthouse, located in Lake City, Florida, is a contributing building to the Lake City Historic Commercial District.
Waymark Code: WM31D4
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2008
Views: 66
The Lake City Historic Commercial District was designated as a National Register of Historic Places Historic District on June 6, 1994. This historic district is bounded by Railroad, North Hernando, Duval, and North Columbia Streets and contains 1 historic structure and 47 historic buildings, including the Columbia County Courthouse. The courthouse is the home of the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Florida.
The following information is available on the internet about Columbia County and its Courthouse
(visit link): "Columbia County (the lyric name "Columbia" honors Columbus) was founded in 1832. The original county seat was the home of pioneer resident John W. Roberts in the village of Alligator. Early Columbia residents also attended court in Newnansville, the county seat of Alachua County (which, to add to the confusion, was briefly located within Columbia County during the 1830's), and one source also lists a temporary county seat at Lancaster, near Dowling Park in present-day Suwannee County. In 1859 the name "Alligator" was changed to Lake City, in recognition of several scenic lakes in the vicinity. The original name honors a Seminole war chief rather than the reptile itself - although Lake City was the original location of the University of Florida."
"The present Columbia County Courthouse, designed by architect Frank P. Milburn, was built in 1905. The original construction included a cupola and dome which were later removed, but which are visible in some of these postcard views. Numerous prior courthouses, most if not all constructed from logs, fell victim to arsonists in 1848, 1860, 1867, and 1874."
In October 2003, a full scale renovation of and addition to the old courthouse was completed. The renovation included the addition of a cupola and dome replica of the original.