Page "Clay County, Alabama" Paragraph 1

Clay County was established on December 7, 1866 from land taken from Randolph and Talladega County.

Named after the famous statesman Henry Clay, the county seat itself was named after his estate in Lexington, Kentucky called " Ashland ".

Clay County was formed for geographic reasons.

The citizens of the area had a difficult time reaching the county seat of Wedowee in Randolph County because of the Tallapoosa River to the east.

Talladega was difficult to reach because of the intervening mountains.

Even today, Clay County is one of only three counties in Alabama to have no U. S. Highways in its boundaries.