Clay County, Tennessee
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 2 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1977. Most listings are in or near Celina, Free Hill.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Tennessee is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Clay titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 2 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
2 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Clay County Courthouse | Celina | 1977 |
| Free Hills Rosenwald School | Free Hill | 1996 |
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 1870 (1870-12-07) from Jackson, Overton.
CLAY created from JACKSON and OVERTON.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,987 | 8,421 | 9,193 | 10,904 | 8,701 | 7,289 | 7,676 | 7,976 | 7,581 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS41 cemeteries and 4 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 41 of 41 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Biles Cemetery |
| Bowe Cemetery |
| Browning Cemetery |
| Buford Cemetery |
| Chowning Cemetery |
| Craig Cemetery |
| Crossroads Cemetery |
| Donaldson Cemetery |
| Fitzgerald Cemetery |
| Free Hill Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Hamilton Cemetery |
| Jonestown Cemetery |
| Keen Cemetery |
| Key Cemetery |
| Leonard Cemetery |
| Mabry Cemetery |
| Macedonia Cemetery |
| McColgan Family Cemetery |
| McDonald Cemetery |
| Meadows Cemetery |
| Miles Cemetery |
| New Hope Cemetery |
| Odle Cemetery |
| Pedigo Cemetery |
| Pitcock Cemetery |
| Plumlee Cemetery |
| Reeves Cemetery |
| Roberts Cemetery |
| Rock Springs Cemetery |
| Saint John Cemetery |
| Stone Cemetery |
| Thompson - Webb Cemetery |
| Thompson Cemetery |
| Tinsley Cemetery |
| Turkeytown Cemetery |
| Turner Cemetery |
| Union Hill Cemetery |
| Vinson Cemetery |
| Walker Cemetery |
| Williams Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 4 of 4
| Name |
|---|
| Fox Springs |
| Lillydale |
| Turkey Creek |
| Turkeytown |
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, Tennessee
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