The historic St. Johns County jail that once held MLK Jr. faces possible demolition, stirring community efforts to preserve it.

The building played a prominent role in the civil rights movement. Hundreds of demonstrators, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and more than a dozen rabbis were held there between 1963 and 1964.

In a statement, St. Johns County Administrator Joy Andrews cited the history of the 1952 facility for the careful nature of the decision-making process. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. famously was housed there after his arrest in St.