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Senate Resolution

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A resolution recognizing Clay County and the

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accomplishments of its residents since its establishment

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in 1858 and celebrating the County's Anniversary

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Celebration Day, May 10, 2008.

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     WHEREAS, the first permanent European farmers, tradesmen,

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and businessmen first settled along the banks of the St. Johns

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River, Doctors Lake, and Black Creek in 1763, lands continuously

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inhabited since then under the various flags of Great Britain,

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Spain, and the United States, and

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     WHEREAS, during the fall of 1858, the residents of

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Middleburg, Clay Hill, and Magnolia Springs signed a petition to

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form a new county, and John G. Smith, the representative for the

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area, helped to craft and guide through the Florida Legislature

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the formation of a new county to be called Clay in honor of Henry

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Clay, whose Whig ideals were popular with the residents, and

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     WHEREAS, on December 31, 1858, Governor Madison Starke Perry

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signed into law the establishment of the new county, whose

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residents voted to make Middleburg the first county seat, and

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     WHEREAS, in the postwar period, Clay County residents banded

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together to rebuild the county and promote tourism along the St.

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Johns River with magnificent hotels such as the Magnolia Springs

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Hotel, The Park View Hotel, The Clarendon, The Union Hotel, and

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The St. Clair, and

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     WHEREAS, Francis P. Fleming and William S. Jennings, two

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sons of Clay County, rose to become governors of the state, and

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residents of Clay County have achieved prominence in various

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fields, including Marine Corps General Roy S. Geiger in Military

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Service; Charles Merrell, James Cash Penney, and Paul E. Reinhold

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in Business; Primatologist Robert Yerkes, founder of the Yerkes

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Primate Lab (Orange Park, Florida), in Psychology; Augusta Savage

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in Art; and Slim Whitman and Lynyrd Skynyrd in Music, and

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     WHEREAS, the county's population growth over the years led

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to the incorporation of the towns of Green Cove Springs in 1874,

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Orange Park in 1877, Keystone Heights in 1925, and Penney Farms

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in 1927, and

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     WHEREAS, during the Great Depression, Clay County residents

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were employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and built Gold

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Head Branch State Park, one of the first state parks in Florida,

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and

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     WHEREAS, the United States military has established military

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posts and airfields in Clay County since 1836 including Fort

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Heileman in 1836, Fort Number 11 in 1839, Fort Van Cortlandt in

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1839, Magnolia Springs in 1864, Camp Blanding in 1939, and Lee

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Airfield in 1941, and

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     WHEREAS, the military trained more than 800,000 soldiers at

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Camp Blanding during World War II and Clay County residents are

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currently involved in fighting the War on Terror, NOW, THEREFORE,

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Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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     That the Senate recognizes and honors the achievements of

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Clay County residents and the significance of the roles they have

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played in the history of Florida and the United States of

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America, and joins Clay County in celebrating its Anniversary

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Celebration Day, May 10, 2008.