Editing Clay County, Florida (section)

==History==
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Early in the 19th century, [[Zephaniah Kingsley]] built his prosperous Laurel Grove Plantation, planting oranges and trading slaves, where [[Orange Park, Florida|Orange Park]] is today.

Clay County was created on December 31, 1858, from a section of [[Duval County, Florida|Duval County]]. The area was once a popular destination for tourists because of its springs and mild climate. Steamboats brought them to various hotels in Green Cove Springs, such as the St. Elmo, Clarendon, and Oakland. [[Grover Cleveland|President Grover Cleveland]] was the most prominent of such tourists and had spring water shipped to the White House.<ref>{{cite book |title=Florida; a Guide to the Southern-Most State |date=1939 |publisher=US History Publishers |isbn=978-1-62376-009-0 |page=352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uOnhezTJonkC&pg=PA352 |access-date=December 17, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Clay County's popularity among tourists peaked during the last three decades of the 19th century. Tourism later waned because of [[Henry Flagler|Henry Flagler's]] extension of the [[Florida East Coast Railway]] to other destinations such as [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]] and [[Miami]].

The military has also played an important role in Clay County history. In 1939, [[Camp Blanding]] opened on [[Kingsley Lake]] in southwest Clay County. The Florida National Guard developed this {{convert|28,000|acre|km2|adj=on}} complex. During [[World War II]], it trained over 90,000 troops and became the fourth-largest "city" in the state. In Green Cove Springs, Lee Field was a flight training center. After World War II, Lee Field became a base for the mothball fleet. Although Lee Field closed in the early 1960s, Camp Blanding continues to operate today as a base for military training. Clay County is also a popular choice of residence for military personnel stationed on bases in nearby Duval County ([[NAS Jacksonville]], [[NS Mayport]], and, before it closed, [[NAS Cecil Field]]).