Clay County was created on February 16, 1854, and Fort Gaines became the county seat. Later that year, the county's first courthouse, a single-room wooden structure, was built on this lot, and the county's first jail stood to the north on an adjoining lot. After a larger courthouse was built in 1873, the original courthouse served as a school, and in 1897 it was remodeled to become the kitchen of the R.C. and Susie McAllister home. It remains part of this private home.