Its Register listing is the Clay City National Bank Building. Most of Clay City was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1890.
The Clay City post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1890. Another post office, Waltersville (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,065 in 18902020 census: 1,193143 years
How historic is Clay City?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clay City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1890.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clay City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clay City is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clay City’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clay City’s 8.3 sits near the middle of its state (39% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1890 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Clay City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European settlement in the vicinity of present-day Clay City was in 1786, by Stephen Collins and his brother, after their discovery of pyrite deposits. Shortly afterwards, the brothers set up the first iron forge west of the Allegheny Mountains and established Collins Forge. The Collins brother sold their forge to Clark and Smith in 1805, the forerunner company of the Red River Iron Works. For much of the 19th century, the settlement was known by the same name as the forge. By the 1880s, the post office was moved across the river and was renamed Waltersville for the local family carrying the same surname.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Clay City’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Waltersville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Clay City
1883–today
Waltersville
1889–1964
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Powell ValleyWaltersville
Gone or out of use
Red River Iron WorkslocaleShawnee Railroad StationlocaleWaltersville Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Clay City
Clay City
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Clay City’s history
What year was Clay City founded?
The Clay City post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1890.
How does Clay City rank for history?
Clay City is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Clay City?
One place: the Clay City National Bank Building (listed 1976).
How old are the homes in Clay City?
1% of Clay City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1977.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2014
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