MAYFIELD, KY — After 133 years, residents of Mayfield said goodbye to the historic Graves County Courthouse on Sept. 13, after demolition of the building began.
After being nearly destroyed in the Dec. 10, 2021 tornado, the decision was made to tear down what remained of the Town Square centerpiece. Many citizens of Mayfield stopped by to take pictures and reminisce on the once beautiful building.
Jennifer Walker, director of the Mayfield-Graves County Tourism Commission, said many of the offices located within the courthouse had to be relocated since their building was demolished. Some include the Art Guild relocating to an office in Regions Bank and the Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism moving to the Commerce Center. In an effort to support fellow members of the community, many local businesses and locations opened their spaces to temporarily house the offices once located in the courthouse.
“There are lots of people trying to help each other out by hosting other people,” Walker said.
Walker said the rebuilding of the courthouse will be a step-by-step process. There is no set completion date.
“They have to bring it down, they’ll have to go through a procurement process to rebuild it and they’ll have to find architects, engineers and construction companies,” Walker said.
Even though this was not an event that the town would have liked to see, Walker is still trying to look on the bright side and find the best outcome.
“We have to bring it down to build something back,” Walker said. “That’s how we’re trying to look at this. It’s a sad day to see these buildings come down, but they have to come down before growth can happen.”
Jill Celaya, chair of Mayfield Rebuilds and owner of Wells Studio, said the community has persevered through a tough time and is now making improvements to create a town that is better than ever.
“As sad and tragic as this event has been, it has given us an opportunity to come back better than we ever were and to grow,” Celaya said. “We are able to address needs that have probably needed to be addressed for years to create a town that is going to make people want to live here, work here and thrive here.”
