Clay County, Illinois

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Clay County is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 13,288.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 1842, its county seat has been Louisville, in the center of the county's area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1950, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in Clay County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The future Clay County had been inhabited for thousands of years by the Illiniwek Indians (the remains of an Indian village's burial ground are still visible west of Ingraham). White explorers used or cleared a trail between the future settlements of Saint Louis in Missouri, to Vincennes in Indiana; this became a mail route in 1805. The first white settler (McCauley, from Kentucky) built a cabin in 1809 near this road at its intersection with a trail from Vandalia to Mt. Carmel. He was driven out by the Indians, but had returned by 1819, by which time other cabins had been constructed in the area, which was originally called Habbardsville. The Indians were removed from the area in 1828.<ref name=CCH/>

Clay County was authorized by act of the state legislature on December 23, 1824, by partitioning portions of Wayne, Crawford, and Fayette counties.<ref name=CCH>Template:Cite web</ref> It was named for American statesman Henry Clay,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State. Clay was a candidate for president in 1824.

The first appointed commissioners met on March 8, 1825, to organize the county government. Land for county building purposes was donated near Habbardsville. The commissioners accepted the offer, renamed it Maysville, and had a two-room courthouse erected on the property by the end of the year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The seat remained at that location (about a mile south of the present community of Clay City) through 1841, and in 1842 the county government began functioning in Louisville, being at the center of the county's area.<ref name=CCH/>

The first railroad line through Clay County was laid between 1850 and 1854, the Ohio and Mississippi Line.<ref name=CCH/> By 1855–56, the Illinois Central Railroad had also been constructed across the northwest corner of the county.

Geography

Clay County from the time of its creation to 1831

Clay County from the time of its creation to 1831
Clay County between 1831 and 1841

Clay County between 1831 and 1841
Clay County was reduced to its current size in 1841 by the creation of Richland County.

Clay County was reduced to its current size in 1841 by the creation of Richland County.

The low rolling hills of Clay County are devoted to agricultural production. The various drainage areas are still largely wooded. The Little Wabash River flows southeastward through the center of the county, while Muddy Creek drains the eastern portion (the meanders of Little Muddy delineate a portion of the county's east border with Richland County). Buck Creek, in the south part of the county, flows eastward and joins the Little Wabash above Clay City. Raccoon Creek flows southeastward from the lower part of the county into Wayne County.<ref>Clay County IL (Google Maps, accessed 24 October 2020)</ref> The highest point on the terrain (Template:Convert ASL) is a small point along the western border with Marion County.<ref>Clay County High Point IL (PeakBagger.com, accessed 24 October 2020)</ref>

The county produced excellent timber during the nineteenth century, and some sandstone and limestone. The soil is light and not considered adapted to farming on a large scale.<ref name=CCH/>

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.3%) is water.<ref name=DC/>

Adjacent counties

Template:Div col

Effingham County - north
Jasper County - northeast
Richland County - east
Wayne County - south
Marion County - west
Fayette County - northwest

Template:Div col end

Major highways

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Louisville have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1904 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in February to Template:Convert in June.<ref name=WX/>

Demographics

Template:US Census population Template:Stack

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 13,815 people, 5,697 households, and 3,790 families in the county.<ref name=DP>Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 6,404 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name=DC>Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 97.7% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population.<ref name=DP/> In terms of ancestry, 21.7% were German, 14.6% were American, 12.6% were Irish, and 8.6% were English.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 5,697 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.5% were non-families, and 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 42.2 years.<ref name=DP/>

The median income for a household in the county was $38,016 and the median income for a family was $48,659. Males had a median income of $38,191 versus $27,347 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,802. About 11.2% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>