History of Clay County Tennessee United States of America

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Clay County was named in honor of Henry Clay. It was erected December 7, 1870, from nearly equal parts of Jackson and Overton counties. Celina was selected for the county seat over Butler's Landing and Bennett's Ferry. Celina is located at the mouth of Obed River and for many years has been one of the most important trading and shipping points on the upper Cumberland.

In that part of Clay County taken from Overton County, and in Overton County, John Sevier located 57,000 acres of land on the visit to which he refers in his diary, a copy of which was secured by the Tennessee Historical Society only a few years ago. After his death, in 1815, his widow moved to the Dale, known later as the Clark place in Clay County. From there she moved to Alabama where she died. Her remains were removed to Knoxville last year and now repose beside those of her distinguished husband.

Statistics of Clay County: Population, 1920, 9,193. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,571,848. Area, 217 square miles. Number of farms, 1,605. Railway mileage, none. This county borders on Kentucky and is drained by the Cumberland and its tributary, Obed River. Its surface is hilly, and the soil of the river bottoms is very fertile. It has fine forests of timber. Corn, tobacco, wheat, oats and live stock are staple products. Celina, the county seat, has a population of 420. It is on the Cumberland River and has good schools and churches, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and a number of prosperous mercantile establishments. Scholastic population of county, 3,077; high schools, 4; elementary schools, 45.

From: Moore, John Trotwood. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL, USA: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.

History of Clay County Tennessee

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