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History · Clay

Clay’s post office opened in 1858, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Clay was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listing is the Old Clay County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1935 on.

1858first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clay began

When was Clay founded?

1858

The Clay post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 396168 years
Founding year: the first Clay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Clay’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Clay’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewScene at Clay, West Virginia: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Clay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clay.

Read it all →

Clay was established on the site of a farm that was the site of Clay County's first court meeting following the county's establishment in 1858. The community was initially known by the name of "Marshall," then briefly as "Henry," and then as "Clay Courthouse" and finally Clay. The town and county are both named for U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Henry Clay (1777–1852). The town was incorporated in 1895. Before 1880, Clay was inaccessible to traffic from horse-drawn vehicles, and the Elk River was its primary mode of transport. Expansion of the Coal and Coke Railway reached Clay in 1905.

In June 2016, the town was impacted by severe flooding from the Elk River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clay, 1858 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Clay post office opens
  3. 1891Born hereE. Ray Reed is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1935In the archiveScene at Clay, West Virginia
  6. 1935Born hereGene Johnson is born here
  7. 1941Born hereDave Vineyard is born here
  8. 1944Born hereClint Nichols is born here
By decade

Clay, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Scene at Clay, West Virginia1935Scene at Clay, West VirginiaScene at Clay, West Virginia1935Scene at Clay, West Virginia
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Clay West Virginia2007Clay West VirginiaClay West Virginia (cropped)2007Clay West Virginia (cropped)Clay County Courthouse West Virginia2007Clay County Courthouse West VirginiaWVMap-doton-Clay2004WVMap-doton-Clay
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Scene at Clay, West Virginia
Retake this viewScene at Clay, West Virginia, 1935

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clay’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Clay

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Old Clay County Courthouse
Old Clay County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts Classical1
Old Clay County CourthouseBeaux Arts Classical

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Clay

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
G
Gene JohnsonAmerican football player · b. 1935
Dave VineyardAmerican baseball player · b. 1941
C
Clint NicholsAmerican politician · b. 1944
E. Ray ReedAmerican politician · b. 1891
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Clay’s post office has been open since 1858.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Clay JunctionTwo Run
Gone or out of use
Elkview Schoolhouseschool

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

Questions about Clay’s history

What year was Clay founded?

The Clay post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Clay?

One place: the Old Clay County Courthouse (listed 1979).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.