Clay County West Virginia

The Clay County Courthouse is located at 207 Main Street, Clay WV 25043; phone: 304-587-4202.

Beginnings [1]

Clay County was organized on March 29, 1858, from land taken from Braxton and Nicholas County and named in honor of the Kentucky statesman, Henry Clay. The county seat went through a variety of changes, being first designated by the Virginia Assembly as the Town of Marshall, in honor of Virginia's great Chief Justice, John Marshall. In 1863, when the legislature of the newly created West Virginia changed the name to Henry (again, for Henry Clay), the town had its second name. Throughout this entire period, however, the town was generally referred to as Clay Courthouse and the United State Post Offices was called Clay. Finally, in 1927, the name was officially changed to Clay, its third and present designation.

1. Michael J Pauley, Rodney Collins, West Virginia Department of Culture and History, Old Clay County Courthouse,
nomination document, 1978, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.