Clay County, West Virginia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 1 listed property in the county, first listed in 1979. Most listings are in or near Clay.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for West Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Clay titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP1 of 1 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
1 listed property
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Old Clay County Courthouse | Clay | 1979 |
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 1858 (1858-03-29) from Braxton, Nicholas, a small part of KANAWHA [KANAWHA not mapped].
CLAY created by Virginia from BRAXTON , NICHOLAS , and a small part of KANAWHA [KANAWHA not mapped]; on 20 June 1863 became a county in the state of West Virginia.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusClay County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,787 | 3,460 | 8,248 | 11,486 | 15,206 | 14,961 | 11,942 | 11,265 | 10,330 | 8,051 |
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. |
|---|---|---|
| Gauley River National Recreation Area | National Recreation Area | 28.9 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS38 cemeteries and 4 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 38 of 38 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Blue Knob Cemetery |
| Boggs Cemetery |
| Boggs Cemetery |
| Chapman Cemetery |
| Cherrytree Cemetery |
| Coen Cemetery |
| Davis Cemetery |
| Duffield Cemetery |
| Dulls Creek Cemetery |
| Eagle Cemetery |
| Grose Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Hallburg Cemetery |
| Hinkle Cemetery |
| Hively Cemetery |
| Holcomb Cemetery |
| Ida Cemetery |
| King Cemetery |
| Kyle Cemetery |
| Little Laurel Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery |
| McCracken Cemetery |
| Mollohan Cemetery |
| Moore Cemetery |
| Moore Fork Cemetery |
| Mullins Cemetery |
| Murphy Cemetery |
| Phillips Cemetery |
| Pierson Cemetery |
| Pleasant Hill Cemetery |
| Ramsey Cemetery |
| Reed - Stephenson - Pierson Cemetery |
| Samples Cemetery |
| Sears Cemetery |
| Tanner Cemetery |
| Triplett Cemetery |
| Turner Cemetery |
| White Cemetery |
| Woods Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 4 of 4
| Name |
|---|
| Barton |
| Frame Knob |
| Jamestown |
| Morocco |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Carnifex Ferry | 1,728 | 31.0 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
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, West Virginia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.