Clay County, Mississippi
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 30 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near West Point, Pheba, Prairie.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Mississippi is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Clay titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP15 of 30 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
30 listed properties
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 1871 (1871-05-12) from Chickasaw, Lowndes, Monroe, Oktibbeha.
COLFAX (now CLAY) created from CHICKASAW, LOWNDES, MONROE, and OKTIBBEHA. On this date, the legislature overrode governor's veto of creation; due to questions of legality of previous action, act passed again 4 Apr 1872.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusClay County population from 1880 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17,367 | 19,563 | 17,490 | 19,030 | 17,757 | 18,933 | 21,082 | 21,979 | 18,636 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Natchez Trace Parkway | Park unit | 31.0 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS39 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 39 of 39 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Abbott Cemetery |
| Cantrell Cemetery |
| Chandler Cemetery |
| Concord Cemetery |
| Concord Number 2 Cemetery |
| Concord Number One Cemetery |
| Cousin Cemetery |
| Cumberland Cemetery |
| Greenwood Cemetery |
| Hampton Cemetery |
| Hatchet Cemetery |
| Lee Cemetery |
| Lower Prairie Creek Cemetery |
| McPherson Cemetery |
| Methodist Cemetery |
| Mixon Cemetery |
| Morton Cemetery |
| Mosley Cemetery |
| Mount Zion Cemetery |
| Old Montpelier Cemetery |
| Palestine Cemetery |
| Palo Alto Cemetery |
| Pine Bluff Cemetery |
| Pitchlynn Cemetery |
| Pooles Cemetery |
| Prairie Creek Cemetery |
| Rocky Hill Cemetery |
| Saint Paul Cemetery |
| Saint Robertson Cemetery |
| Shaffer Cemetery |
| Siloam Cemetery |
| Strong Cemetery |
| Tibbee Cemetery |
| Vinton Cemetery |
| Watkins Cemetery |
| Waverley Cemetery |
| West Point Memorial Gardens |
| Westbrook Cemetery |
| Young Cemetery |
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, Mississippi
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.