Clay County was named for the county for Henry Clay of Kentucky by the Territorial Legislature. It was organized on
 August 10, 1866 by J. B. Quimby; William Payne; Moses Yonkings; George D. Seabury; Lorenzo Gates; John G. Haynes;
 and Joseph P. Ryan. Lorenzo Gates and William Silvers have descendants living in the county. Clay County holds the cities
 of Clay Center, Clifton (part), Green, Longford, Morganville, Oak Hill, Vining (part) and Wakefield.

 Indian outbreaks from 1857 and 1864 forced the early settlers out of the county. The establishment of the English settlement
 of Wakefield Colony in 1869, brought not only these new people to the county, but their expertise in farming contributed
 greatly to the agriculture of the area.

 Because the Republican River bisects the county from northwest to southwest, bridges were of major importance in the
 county's history. The first bridge was built near Clay Center in 1875; the second at Vining, 1880; and the remaining bridges
 were built at Wakefield, Morganville, and Broughton.