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History · Clay Township

Half of Clay Township’s homes were built after 2003

Most of Clay Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1924 on.

0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Clay Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Clay Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clay Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1984. Watch Clay Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clay Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clay Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eversonville
1878–1906
Lowell
1896–1901
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EversonvilleLowell
Gone or out of use
Botts SchoolschoolEast Strawberry SchoolschoolEureka SchoolschoolMagnolia ChurchchurchNewton SchoolschoolParson Creek ChurchchurchTharp SchoolschoolWest Strawberry Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clay Township
BottsParsons Creek

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Clay Township on the map, 1924 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clay Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Clay Township on the 1924 USGS mapClay Township on the 1947 USGS mapClay Township on the 1984 USGS map1924Chula sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clay Township.

The story so far

Clay Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clay Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Clay Township is a township in Linn County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Clay Township was established in 1869, and most likely was named after Henry Clay, a Kentucky statesman.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 248 to 282 (+14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Clay Township, 1878 to 1924

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Eversonville post office opens
  3. 1896Post officeThe Lowell post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Post officeThe Lowell post office closes
  6. 1906Post officeThe Eversonville post office closes
  7. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Clay Township

Nobody well known was born in Clay Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John J. PershingUnited States Army general in World War I · b. 1860
J. William FulbrightAmerican politician · b. 1905
Clyde TolsonAssociate director of the FBI · b. 1900
Lewis R. FosterScreenwriter, director, producer, television co… · b. 1898
D
Doris AkersAmerican music composer, arranger and singer · b. 1923
Don PrattRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1892
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Jackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townParson Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLocust Creek Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWheeling TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clay Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.