Clay County, Alabama

Clay County is a county of the US state of Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 13,932. Its county seat is Ashland and it is a prohibition or dry county.

Clay County
U.S. county
Clay County Courthouse in Ashland
Clay County Courthouse in Ashland
Map of Alabama highlighting Clay County
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Map of the United States highlighting Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°16′20″N 85°51′40″W
Country United States
State Alabama
FoundedDecember 7, 1866
SeatAshland
Largest cityLineville
Area
 • Total606 sq mi (1,570 km2)
 • Land605 sq mi (1,570 km2)
 • Water189,787 sq mi (491,550 km2)  (0.15%)%
Population
 (2000)
 • Total14,254
 • Density11/sq mi (4/km2)

History

Clay County was formed on December 7, 1866 from land taken from Randolph and Talladega County. Its name is in honor of Henry Clay, famous American statesman, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State. Clay County is one of only three counties in Alabama to have no U.S. Highways in its boundaries.

During the Desert Shield/Storm conflict, Clay County had more soldiers serving per capita than any other county in the United States.[1]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 606.00 square miles (1,569.5 km2). 605.07 square miles (1,567.1 km2) (or 99.85%) is land and 0.93 square miles (2.4 km2) (or 0.15%) is water.[2]

Major highways
  • State Route 9
  • State Route 48
  • State Route 49
  • State Route 77

Rail
  • CSX Transportation
  • Norfolk Southern Railway

Border counties

National protected area
  • Talladega National Forest (part)

Cities and towns

Notable natives
  • Hugo Black (1886–1971), born in Harlan, served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1937 until 1971
  • LaFayette L. Patterson (1888–1987), born near Delta, served three terms in the U.S. Congress from 1928 to 1933
  • Byron Lavoy Cockrell (1935–2007), born in Lineville, rocket scientist and engineer
  • Bob Riley (b. 1944), Alabama's 52nd governor, native of Ashland

Places of interest

Clay County is home to parts of Cheaha State Park in the Talladega National Forest and Lake Wedowee on the eastern boundary. The Pinhoti Trail system Archived 2009-04-09 at the Wayback Machine weaves its way through the Talladega National Forest to Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. Hikers along the trail may see some of the local wildlife, including whitetail deer, wild turkey, and the rare bald eagle.

References
  1. Small Town Historic Markers, Alabama Tourism Department, retrieved 2011-02-02
  2. "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.