Clay County, South Dakota

Clay County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Vermillion
Year Organized: 1862
Square Miles: 412

Court House:

211 W. Main Street, Suite 200
County Courthouse
Vermillion, SD 57069-2039

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Clay is probably named for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Henry Clay.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

The modern settlement of Clay County began in 1859 when the land was opened for legal occupation. In 1862 the county organization was effected and Commissioners and officers were named. The city of Vermillion was founded in 1859 and incorporated in 1873. It was named for either the old Fort Vermillion or for the near-by Vermillion River. In 1862 the territorial legislature located the State University in Vermillion, but nothing was done until 1882 when Clay County voted $10,000 in bonds to construct a building.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 417 square miles (1,079 km²), of which, 412 square miles (1,066 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (13 km²) of it (1.22%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Turner County, South Dakota - north
Lincoln County, South Dakota - northeast
Union County, South Dakota - east
Dixon County, Nebraska - southeast
Cedar County, Nebraska - southwest
Yankton County, South Dakota - west

Cities and Towns:

- Bethel	township
- Garfield	township
- Glenwood	township
- Greenfield	township
- Irene	city	Incorporated Area
- Mayfield	township
- Meckling	township
- Norway	township
- Pleasant Valley	township
- Prairie Center	township
- Riverside	township
- Spirit Mound	township
- Star	township
- Vermillion (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Wakonda	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."