Clay County, North Carolina
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 4 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1975. Most listings are in or near Hayesville, Tusquitee.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for North Carolina is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Clay titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 4 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
4 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Chatuge Hydroelectric Project | Hayesville | 2017 |
| Clay County Courthouse | Hayesville | 1975 |
| Moore, John Covington, House | Tusquitee | 1983 |
| Spikebuck Town Mound and Village Site | Hayesville | 1982 |
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 1861 (1861-02-20) from Cherokee.
CLAY created from CHEROKEE.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusClay County population from 1870 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,461 | 3,316 | 4,532 | 4,646 | 6,405 | 6,006 | 5,526 | 6,619 | 8,775 | 11,089 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS6 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 6 of 6 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Fires Creek Cemetery |
| Galloway Hill Cemetery |
| Hayesville Cemetery |
| Ledford Chapel Methodist Cemetery |
| McClure Cemetery |
| Old Ledford Chapel 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, North Carolina
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.