Place:Clay, Kansas, United States

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NameClay
Alt namesClaysource: Getty Vocabulary Program
CYsource: Wikipedia
TypeCounty
Coordinates39.35°N 97.167°W
Located inKansas, United States     (1866 - )


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Clay County (county code CY) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,117. Its county seat and most populous city is Clay Center.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early history

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1857, Clay County was established.

When the first counties were created by the Kansas legislature in 1855, the territory within the present limits of the county was attached to Riley County for all revenue and judicial purposes. Subsequently, Clay was attached to Geary County. In 1857, Clay was created and named in honor of the famous American statesman Henry Clay, a member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century.

In 1887, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a branch line from Neva (3 miles west of Strong City) to Superior, Nebraska. This branch line connected Strong City, Neva, Rockland, Diamond Springs, Burdick, Lost Springs, Jacobs, Hope, Navarre, Enterprise, Abilene, Talmage, Manchester, Longford, Oak Hill, Miltonvale, Aurora, Huscher, Concordia, Kackley, Courtland, Webber, Superior. At some point, the line from Neva to Lost Springs was pulled, but the right of way has not been abandoned. This branch line was originally called "Strong City and Superior line" but later the name was shortened to the "Strong City line". In 1996, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged with Burlington Northern Railroad and renamed to the current BNSF Railway. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Santa Fe".

21st century

In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed north to south through Clay County, with much controversy over tax exemption and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs). A pumping station named Riley was built along the pipeline.

Timeline

Date Event Source
1860 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1860 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1864 Marriage records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1866 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1866 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1868 Court records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1868 Probate records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1885 Birth records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1860 163
1870 2,942
1880 12,320
1890 16,146
1900 15,833
1910 15,251
1920 14,365
1930 14,556
1940 13,281
1950 11,697
1960 10,675
1970 9,890
1980 9,802
1990 9,158

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Clay County, Kansas, United States

Research Tips

Resources

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Clay County, Kansas. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.