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HISTORY.
Clay County was
formed in 1858 from parts of Braxton, Kanawha, and Nicholas Counties and was
named in honor of Henry Clay, a Kentucky statesman. We declared our statehood in
1863.
The county area is 346.1 square miles. Approximately 10,200
lived in Clay County in 1910 while the 2020 census indicated a drop in
population to 8,341.
The mean annual temperature is 55 degrees and the mean annual
snowfall ranges from 22 to 40 inches. The variation is due to mountain terrain.
Two thirds of the county lies at elevations of 1000 feet above sea level.
The county seat and only municipality is in the Town of Clay, ( formerly known
as Clay Courthouse). It has a Mayor/Council form of government with the
Mayor being the Chief Executive Officer. Town Council consists of 5 members, one
recorder and the Mayor. It is located 42 miles from the State Capitol,
Charleston. 
POPULATION
1960 - 11,942
1970 -
9,330
1980 - 11,265
1990 -
9,983
2000 - 10,700
2010 - 10,300
2020 - 8341
WORK
There are 2,346
workers living in the county. Of that 1,241 work inside the county while 1,016
work in another county and 1.7% ( 40) have jobs in another state.
COUNTY GOVT.
A three member
county commission governs the county. The County Commission has the
primary budgetary and administrative responsibility for the operation of county
government.
COMMUNICATIONS
Clay County is
served by two newspapers. The Clay County Freepress which is published weekly
and The Communicator and is published bi weekly. There are no television
stations in the county. Part of the county is served by 1 cable TV company.
Telephone and internet service is provided by Frontier Communication.
This information was copied with
permission from ClayWestVirginia.com |
