Clay County

The Clay County Courthouse was listed on the NRHP in 1977 for its architectural significance as a local interpretation of the Italianate style. In addition, the building is historically significant for its association with the governmental history of Clay County. Located in Celina, the Clay County Courthouse was constructed in 1873 and has served as the center of county politics and government for over 130 years. As such, it has the unusual distinction among courthouses in Tennessee, as the first and only courthouse to have been constructed in the county.

The Cordell Hull Law Office seen today has been moved many times and has changed from a three-room building to two. Cordell Hull used the building as a law office in 1891. After a stint with the U.S. Army, including service in the Spanish-American War, Hull returned to Celina in 1901. He was elected special judge by the Clay County Bar and then elected judge in April 1903. He was then appointed judge by Governor Frazier and elected to the same position in August of the same year. After serving as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee, Hull became the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration (1933-1944). Cordell Hull is best known as the Father of the United Nations and as a recipient of the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize.

Montvale Academy was organized April 13, 1882, by Isaiah Fitzgerald, A.P. Green, John H. McMillan, J.H. Stephens, V.P. Smith, and William Love. Montvale Academy was an outstanding private school. Many of its students became doctors, lawyers, judges, and teachers. Two of the most noted graduates were Congressman Cordell Hull and Governor Benton McMillan. Cordell Hull was instrumental in helping to create the United Nations and was Secretary of State under Franklin Roosevelt. Hull was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The building that was Montvale Academy is the present day Upton Funeral Home.

The original building was a bank owned by J. W. Green of Hermitage Springs. When the bank closed, the building was used as a grocery store, a beauty shop and other businesses. The building was demolished in the late 1970's or early 1980's, and the cement bank vault was left standing.

The McColgan Home was built in 1858 by Dr. Wilson McColgan (1825-1910) of brick fabricated by slaves who lived on the farm. The home had 14 rooms—five of which had fireplaces—a basement, and three chimneys. The walls of the home were four bricks thick. The McColgan family named the community of Arcot for their ancestral home in Scotland.