Clay County is a County (United States) located in the U.S. state of Arkansas As of 2000 the population was 17,609. The county has two county seat , Corning, Arkansas and Piggott, Arkansas It is a dry county

History

When Clay County was created as Arkansass 67th county on March 24, 1873 (alongside Baxter County, Arkansas , it was named Clayton County after John M. Clayton (Arkansas) then a member of the Arkansas Senate and the brother of then-United States Senate Powell Clayton lt;ref name"EncOfAR">http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search1&entryID755 Clay County (Encyclopedia of Arkansas)], though some sources suggest it may have been named for Powell Clayton insteadhttp://www.couchgenweb.com/arkansas/clay/clayhist.htm Brief History of Clay County, Arkansas (CouchGenWeb.com)]. The countys name was shortened to "Clay" two years later by the Arkansas General Assembly though some sources say it was renamed for the legendary statesman Henry Clay lt;ref name"EncOfAR" />, others say John M. Clayton remained its official namesakehttp://local.arkansas.gov/local.php?agencyClay+County Clay County (Local.Arkansas.gov)] ("Senator James M. Clayton", probably referring to John M. Clayton). In either case, the name change was apparently inspired by lingering distrust of Powell Clayton within the county, due to his declaring martial law and suspending elections there in 1868 when he was Governor of Arkansas and the area was still part of Greene County, Arkansas lt;ref name"EncOfAR" />. The first county seat was Corning, established in 1873, with the arrival of the Missouri Pacific Railroad as the first incorporated town in the county. The county seat was moved to Boydsville in 1877, though, because people living east of the Black and Cache Rivers had difficulty getting to Corning during flood season. This caused trouble for those living westof the rivers, however, and in 1881 Corning was re-established as the seat of the Western District, with Boydsville remaining the seat of the Eastern District. Upon the arrival of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway in 1882, other towns such as Greenway, Rector and Piggott experienced growth. In 1887, the Eastern District seat was moved to Piggott. The dual county seat system remains in place today. Important county functions (such as the Quorum Court) alternate between Piggott and Corning as their venues. On April 6, 1972, the Sheriffs in the United States and two sheriffs deputies were killed in a shootout while attempting to serve a Warrant (law) on Burt Grissom; Sheriff http://www.odmp.org/officer/1582-sheriff-douglas-lucian-batey Douglas Batey] and Deputies http://www.odmp.org/officer/1270-deputy-sheriff-glendale-ray-archer Glen Ray Archer] and http://www.odmp.org/officer/7513-deputy-sheriff-troy-key Troy Key] were killed; Sheriff Batey was replaced by http://www.odmp.org/officer/10748-sheriff-william-thomas-pond William Thomas Pond] as Sheriff, but Sheriff Thomas was killed also on June 8, 1973 in an automobile accident. Of the five officers who have died in service of the Clay County Sheriffs Office, four died in these two incidents.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau the county has a total area of 641 square miles (1,661 km²), of which 639 square miles (1,656 km²) is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) (0.33%) is water.

Major Highways

*Image:US 49.svg U.S. Highway 49 *Image:US 62.svg U.S. Highway 62 *Image:US 67.svg U.S. Highway 67 *Image:Arkansas 90.svg Highway 90 (Arkansas) *Image:Arkansas 119.svg Highway 119 (Arkansas) *Image:Arkansas 139.svg Highway 139 (Arkansas)

Adjacent counties

*Butler County, Missouri (north) *Dunklin County, Missouri (east) *Greene County, Arkansas (south) *Randolph County, Arkansas (west) *Ripley County, Missouri (northwest)

Cities and towns

| |----- valign"top" | *Corning, Arkansas *Datto, Arkansas *Greenway, Arkansas *Knobel, Arkansas | *McDougal, Arkansas *Nimmons, Arkansas *Peach Orchard, Arkansas | *Piggott, Arkansas *Pollard, Arkansas *Rector, Arkansas | *St. Francis, Arkansas *Scatterville, Arkansas *Success, Arkansas |}

Demographics

Image:USA Clay County, Arkansas age pyramid.svg census data]] As of the census GR|2}} of 2000, there were 17,609 people, 7,417 households, and 5,073 families residing in the county. The population density was 28 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 8,498 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.08% Race (United States Census) 0.19% Race (United States Census) or Race (United States Census) 0.69% Race (United States Census) 0.08% Race (United States Census) 0.15% from Race (United States Census) and 0.81% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Race (United States Census) or Race (United States Census) of any race. There were 7,417 households out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were Marriage living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. In the county the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,345, and the median income for a family was $32,558. Males had a median income of $24,375 versus $17,146 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,512. About 13.40% of families and 17.50% of the population were below the poverty line including 21.20% of those under age 18 and 22.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

County Officials

*County Judge: Gary Howell *County Clerk: Pat Poole *Sheriff & Collector:Gerald Mcclung *Circuit Clerk: Janet Kilbreath *County Treasurer: Carolyn Morrisett *District Judge: David Copelin *Quorum Court Justices: David Cagle, Greg Ahrendt, Doyne Holifield, Joey Henderson, David Hatcher, Dennis Haynes, Mark Watson, & Burton Eddington.

Economy

Agriculture is the cornerstone of Clay Countys economy. Farmers throughout the county grow a wide variety of crops. Rice is the dominant crop, but significant amounts of cotton soybeans Maize hay and milo are also grown. Industry is limited to a handful of factories located in the cities of Piggott Corning, Arkansas and Rector

References

Category:Arkansas counties Category:Clay County, Arkansas Category:1873 establishments ar:مقاطعة كلاي، أركنسو bg:Клей (окръг, Арканзас) de:Clay County (Arkansas) es:Condado de Clay (Arkansas) fr:Comté de Clay (Arkansas) bpy:ক্লে কাউন্টি, আরকান্‌সাস it:Contea di Clay (Arkansas) nl:Clay County (Arkansas) no:Clay County (Arkansas) nds:Clay County (Arkansas) pl:Hrabstwo Clay (Arkansas) pt:Condado de Clay (Arkansas) sv:Clay County, Arkansas zh:克莱县 (阿肯色州)