Clay County, Kentucky
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 5 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1989. Most listings are in or near Eriline, Manchester, Big Creek.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Kentucky is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Clay titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP0 of 5 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
5 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Trap Rock Petroglyphs (15CY53) | Eriline | 1989 |
| Manchester Historic District | Manchester | 2023 |
| Peabody-Fordson Historic District | Big Creek | 2017 |
| Red Bird River Shelter Petroglyphs (15CY52) | Eriline | 1989 |
| Sullen Possum Site | Oneida | 1993 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBClay was formed in 1807 (1807-04-01) from Floyd, Knox, Madison.
CLAY created from FLOYD, KNOX, and MADISON.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusClay County population from 1810 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1810 | 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,398 | 4,393 | 4,607 | 6,652 | 10,222 | 15,364 | 19,795 | 23,901 | 23,116 | 20,748 | 22,752 | 24,556 | 20,345 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS35 cemeteries and 11 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 35 of 35 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Arnetts Cemetery |
| Ball Cemetery |
| Bishop Cemetery |
| Boggs Flat Cemeteries |
| Boston Gap Cemetery |
| Brown Mission Cemetery |
| Clark Cemetery |
| Cradlebow Cemetery |
| Day Cemetery |
| Engine Cemetery |
| Ephram Branch Cemetery |
| Genty Cemetery |
| Holland Cemetery |
| Hoskins Cemetery |
| Hurd Cemetery |
| Island Creek Cemetery |
| Lewis Cemetery |
| Manchester Memorial Gardens |
| McDaniel Cemetery |
| Middleton Cemetery |
| Mosley Cemetery |
| Nelly Cemetery |
| Pennington Cemetery |
| Ray Cemetery |
| Robinson Cemetery |
| Sacker Cemetery |
| Saddler Cemetery |
| Sandlin Cemetery |
| Sizemore Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Smith Cemetery |
| Thomas Cemetery |
| White Cemetery |
| Williams Cemetery |
| York Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 11 of 11
| Name |
|---|
| Bishop Bend |
| Collins Station |
| Flatwoods |
| Gray Fork |
| Lebanon |
| Mouth of Hector |
| Mouth of Little Sextons Creek |
| Murry |
| Park Valley |
| Pleasant Valley |
| Upper Horse Creek |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Clay County, Kentucky
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