[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6543161,"mediaKeyId","3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def","parentId",3684368,"title","Clay County preservation board acknowledges departures, new senior planner and open seats; officer selection deferred","audioSeconds",131,"startMs",1324050,"endMs",1455290,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def&start=1324&end=1455","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def/thumbnail_1324050.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6543161/Clay-County/Florida/Clay-County-preservation-board-acknowledges-departures-new-senior-planner-and-open-seats-officer-selection-deferred","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6543161-1145679ffa7b24b4f4ee8d49e570271a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770585903&Signature=ZA45yHgoaEXi-30Sd25EmxM1JEpecuHKESQ2uQrQ5oJGeA9OVoYy6OOO8egKvkP958-SnEHa1VPQUajf0xYdhTw0pmQLF5miMk2S9qG2hNpYjdz877NsBYus5iXjdsNeEqbZEqZtPeiU2~PmFx0rd-OLy-PM~ac3p3oMbxjh5a-fCMLY9esNXE36500mPLyTPqP1VOtR0YIpY9ObQu9Win09LplkGPjdRBzv7q97EbtdCfLF2UobE3Gb5hUwAcX60oNKxuErdxYI2QuJThV3FBOdYQXh0r0GvS62bByvhH5eWGPEowTOxpGQPIzp~I8D-HIrZY7Ma~Id7yH0CzxU6g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Clay County","date","2025-06-05T00:00:00Z","article","At its June 1 meeting the Clay County Historical Preservation Board—meeting without a quorum—reported personnel changes and membership openings. Chair remarks and staff updates covered an expected vacancy on the board, a pending application, and the board’s decision to defer officer elections to the August meeting because July has no scheduled meeting and several member terms expire July 1.

Chair and staff explained that Maureen (last name not provided during the meeting) is leaving the board and that the board will miss her service. Staff said both the departing member’s seat and another at-large seat are available; staff also noted a vacancy in District 4 (which covers Middleburg and Keystone). The board said interested residents should contact staff for application links and that there are limits on at-large membership (no more than three members from the same district).

Staff introduced Bernadette Fisher as the county’s new senior planner. Staff said Fisher has experience in historic preservation and will begin supporting the board’s projects in August; the staff member who currently supports the board said she will remain available to assist during the transition and will work with Fisher.

Because no quorum was present, the board did not hold a vote to select officers or to confirm any appointments; the chair said officer selection would be deferred to the August meeting. The board also confirmed it would continue work on ongoing projects, including the Middleburg Colored School effort, and encouraged members and applicants to remain engaged.

No formal votes or motions were recorded at the meeting due to the lack of a quorum.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Clay County - Historic Preservation Board Jun 05, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The board said officer selections will be deferred because the meeting lacked a quorum and noted Maureen's departure, the pending consideration of two applicants for board seats, and the county's hiring of Bernadette Fisher as senior planner to support preservation work.","taxTitle","Clay County, Florida","taxId",12757,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6543164,"Clay County volunteer effort adds eight cemeteries to Florida master file; board maps historic burial sites",170,793580,964370,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def&start=793&end=964","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def/thumbnail_793580.jpg","/articles/6543164/Clay-County/Florida/Clay-County-volunteer-effort-adds-eight-cemeteries-to-Florida-master-file-board-maps-historic-burial-sites","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6543164-a4c54c4a9ca6460220cfae492dc7db6d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770585903&Signature=Nr52oF-JIBI2iawDViQfUjwkrX8JPQcAJlpIF-6yLTtxn9C6gWaFrPeYowgDWqgYelcHJP7YNfX-i3a6g7aGChiJlPBaMbZFDY3xhq2WmRHlmRPYxKG6QNcTC6bWChhckafXP9rvf8zTtGX0zlIraAJwYc0aZIX2CpRzAjXafVN1F5gQJlrBHwtXjvv7whfEx7TChGWO7GQeNheRdcSuevrQ8uhZkxyKLtYccCQDjB2C23laUMZd9JNe6k5alEYB49ABQyTuITCc5W3~mZKcp63F7Ln43kvAAal4Cn0UgcXQlO3IXwrzWOPeHE6~A2enSYy~DT6ZhpTz6esQPrAHtw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the June 1 Clay County Historical Preservation Board meeting, board member Kathy reported recent progress on cemetery documentation across the county. She said eight cemeteries were added to the Florida state master file in the past weeks: Middleburg Methodist, Russell Haven of Rest, Oakland, Kingsley, Lake, Buddington, Black Pond Baptist, Long Branch and Oak Grove Baptist. Kathy said she was preparing to submit Shiloh Baptist for listing after speaking with the pastor.

Kathy described fieldwork with a colleague, Jennifer, visiting Long Branch, Kingsley Lake and Buddington to record visible graves and memorials. She told the board that Kingsley Lake and Long Branch each contain “over a thousand burials” and said Kingsley Lake appears to have burials dating back to the 1850s. At Long Branch she reported numerous small, unmarked stones that indicate historic burials without legible markers.

Kathy said archival research and outreach to family members led to removal of some sites from the county list where evidence showed graves no longer exist or sites never were established. She cited one example where a “Robert’s family burial ground” listed on Find-a-Grave had only two memorials; living family members told researchers those graves were destroyed when a railroad was built.

Kathy said she used multiple sources in her research, including materials from Elizabeth Spencer, a James Boone cemetery survey from the 1950s–60s, online databases such as Find-a-Grave, and county archival records. She said a former member of the Clay County Historical Commission provided minutes and records going back to the 1970s; those minutes end in September 2011 and she is still seeking records covering 2011–present.

Kathy asked the board to note that some cemetery records are complicated by name inconsistencies (for example, Pleasant Point / Mount Pleasant / Mount Olive in different sources), and urged collaboration between the archives and the preservation board to consolidate records. She said the state’s historic-resources staff have been responsive, sometimes assigning site numbers within hours of a formal submission.

The board did not take formal action—there was no quorum—but members praised Kathy’s fieldwork and encouraged further submissions to the state master file.","Board member Kathy reported eight cemeteries added to the Florida state master file and described field surveys and archival research that uncovered burial counts, moved properties and gaps in earlier records.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6543171,"Clay County preservation board: Middleburg state marker delayed; county plans new markers with tighter text limits",321,59230,380761,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def&start=59&end=380","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3684368-85a13a166620fb50be351968f6a23def/thumbnail_59230.jpg","/articles/6543171/Clay-County/Florida/Clay-County-preservation-board-Middleburg-state-marker-delayed-county-plans-new-markers-with-tighter-text-limits","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6543171-9e2648c41566569a58f30e33908d49cf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770585903&Signature=oQGHwKFbMc23n-V2ajlZ4KjgTuVHxL-cpAhUKFsDsbcKO00BXD9awcPuBKMwBgCNdwaWBngAr5cMtb0O~gJge2su9sLcTpKNK~Q9VqEAJ148Q-hBVGjrm44ikBz9Je4p8rILxv3TRMT0Z~nAwEb~Y7yxS8ankXdv6TE5Z1EI6xvmJw~lKWvtrAySptBK4fuvehtA-osyJrgTHIl~exleb--QGKvLWFZGD8c~KDJQc9so8YeqXxPCAwEJXLT-P4Vy4nb3-8WIIS8ABb62A87VGlhfB0bbQUWST~0CaJECadr5xiHczfaRGHdqMKdVCS1mS3X9SNUG42J3Y5kdYEYRCg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Clay County Historical Preservation Board meeting on June 1, 2025, opened without a quorum, leaving no formal votes. During the public-comment portion, resident Ruth Payne asked about the status of a state historic-marker application for the Middleburg Museum and Middleburg Civic Center and was told county staff are waiting for state review and final funding details.

Board members and staff said volunteer researcher Jerry has most of the marker text drafted but is still trying to confirm the exact funding source. Board Chair (speaking at the meeting) said the state marker council only recently had a quorum and that the council is working through a backlog of requests, meaning it will be “a little bit” before the Middleburg request reaches the state for consideration. Staff member Beth confirmed the council had previously received about 50 requests, including the county’s submissions, and that the backlog will take substantial time to clear.

The board also discussed a county marker program that would let the county erect smaller, lower-cost signs while state markers remain delayed or for subjects judged locally significant but not prioritized by the state council. County staff and board members said county markers are intended to use the same plate size as state markers so the appearance is similar. At the meeting, staff and board members agreed on a target character limit for county plates to match the state-style plate: 1,235 characters (counting letters, numbers and spaces) on each side when double-sided. That figure emerged after brief back-and-forth among members who referenced both a 1,250 count and an observed final number of 1,235 characters.

Cost figures discussed at the meeting: staff estimated county markers would cost roughly $200–$300 per marker. By contrast, board members recalled a recent double-sided state marker costing about $3,500. The board said it will work with the county communications department in the coming month to finalize a county marker design and to seek official approval for the county plate so county markers can be produced while the state processes its backlog.

The board stressed that, for the Middleburg marker specifically, newspaper accounts indicate the building’s construction was a WPA-era project, but researchers have not yet found an official federal program citation. That gap is one of the details Jerry was working to pin down before submitting the finalized application.

Because the meeting lacked a quorum, board members could only report progress and accept public comment; no motions or votes were taken.

Board members asked Payne and other applicants to prepare short, focused materials (including the marker text and a 30–35 word statement of historical significance) to speed later submission and review once the county or state moves to the next step.","Board members told a resident the Middleburg Museum/Civic Center state marker remains delayed by a backlog at the state marker council while the county moves ahead with a lower-cost county marker program that matches state plate sizing and a 1,235-character text limit.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Clay County preservation board acknowledges departures, new senior planner and open seats; officer selection deferred

Clay County volunteer effort adds eight cemeteries to Florida master file; board maps historic burial sites

Clay County preservation board: Middleburg state marker delayed; county plans new markers with tighter text limits