Clay County, Arkansas

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

Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Originally incorporated as Clayton County, as of the 2020 United States census, its population was 14,552.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county has two county seats, Corning and Piggott.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It is a dry county, in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or prohibited.

History

When Clay County was created as Arkansas's 67th county on 24 March 1873 (along with Baxter County), it was named Clayton County, after John M. Clayton, then a member of the Arkansas Senate and a brother of then-U.S. Senator Powell Clayton,<ref name="EncOfAR">Template:Cite web</ref> though some sources suggest it may have been named for Powell Clayton instead.<ref name="CouchGenWeb">Template:Cite web</ref>

Two years later on 6 December 1875,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the county's name was shortened to "Clay" by the Arkansas General Assembly. Some claim it was renamed for the statesman Henry Clay,<ref name="EncOfAR" /><ref name="CouchGenWeb" /> while others say John M. Clayton remained its official namesake.<ref>Clay County (Local.Arkansas.gov) ("Senator James M. Clayton", probably referring to John M. Clayton)</ref> The name change apparently was inspired by lingering distrust of Powell Clayton, as he had declared martial law and suspended elections in the county in 1868 when he was Governor of Arkansas and it was still part of Greene County.<ref name="EncOfAR" />

The first county seat was Corning,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> established in 1873, with the arrival of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, as the first incorporated town in the county. The county seat was moved to Boydsville in 1877, in what was known as "Old Bradshaw Field", because people living east of the Black and Cache Rivers had difficulty getting to Corning during the flood season. However, this caused problems for those living west of the rivers, and in 1881 Corning was re-established as the seat of the Western District, with Boydsville remaining the seat for the Eastern District. With the arrival of the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railroad in 1882, other towns such as Greenway, Rector and Piggott experienced growth. In 1887, the Eastern District seat was moved to Piggott, and the dual county seat system remains in place today.<ref>Rector Waterworks Building. Template:Cite web, Retrieved on 23 May 2013.</ref> Important county functions (such as the Quorum Court) alternate between Piggott and Corning as their venues.

In the early 20th century, Clay, Greene, and Craighead counties had sundown town policies forbidding African Americans from living in the area.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 6 April 1972, Sheriff Douglas Batey and deputies Glen Ray Archer and Troy Key were shot and killed while trying to serve a warrant on Bert Grissom. Grissom opened fire as soon as the men stepped out of their car. He later surrendered without resistance to another deputy, and was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. William Thomas Pond became sheriff, but he died in an automobile accident on 8 June 1973. Four of the five police officers who have lost their lives serving the Clay County Sheriff's Office died in these two incidents.Template:Citation needed

Geography

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="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Template:US Census population

File:USA Clay County, Arkansas age pyramid.svg

Age pyramid Clay County<ref>Based on 2000 census data</ref>

2020 census

Clay County racial composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	13,574	93.28%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	40	0.27%
Native American	44	0.3%
Asian	14	0.1%
Pacific Islander	5	0.03%
Other/Mixed	548	3.77%
Hispanic or Latino	327	2.25%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,552 people, 6,444 households, and 4,140 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 17,609 people, 7,417 households, and 5,073 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 8,498 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.1% from two or more races. 0.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,417 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% 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 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 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 13.4% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

County Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Clay County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief executive officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Clay County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf</ref>
Position	Officeholder	Party
County Judge	Mike Patterson	Democratic
County Clerk	Tyler Wyss	Republican
Circuit Clerk	Angela Self	Republican
Sheriff/Collector	Ronnie Cole	Republican
Treasurer	Brande Boyd	Republican
Assessor	Tracy Gurley	Republican
Coroner	Jerrod Daniel Lowe	Republican

District Judge: David Copelin

The composition of the Quorum Court after the 2024 elections is 7 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

District 1: Neal Smith (R)
District 2: Joseph C. Henderson (D)
District 3: Patrick Patterson (R)
District 4: D. David Cagle (R)
District 5: Brad Green (R)
District 6: Dennis Haines (R)
District 7: Randy Kingston (R)
District 8: George E. Lowe (D)
District 9: David Hatcher (R)

Additionally, the townships of Clay County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the Constitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bennett & Lemmons: Jeff Bradish (R)
Bradshaw & Haywood: Shain Casebier (R)
Clark: James W. Harmon (R)
Cleveland & North Kilgore: Michael Gleghorn (R)
East Oak Bluff: James Todd Watson (R)
Liddell & Chalk Bluff: Matthew Vancil (R)
North St. Francis: Andrew Rathel (R)
Payne & Swain: David Dean Taylor (R)
Pollard: Rob Chandler (R)
South St. Francis: Tim Boyd (R)
West Oak Bluff: Terry Robertson (R)

Politics

Economy

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

Education

Public education of elementary and secondary school students is provided by:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list - 2010 map Template:Webarchive - Note the 13080 and boundary indicates that Peach Orchard is in a part of Greene County Tech district territory surrounded by Corning School District territory. The article in Template:Webarchive The Encyclopedia of Arkansas stated that Peach Orchard is in the Corning district, but the finder of Template:Webarchive ArcGIS used by the State of Arkansas confirms it is an exclave of Greene County Tech.</ref>