Clay County, Nebraska

Clay County, Nebraska

County seat: Clay Center · Created: February 16, 1867; organized 1871 · Named for: Henry Clay · License plates: prefix 30 · Population: 6,104 (2020 census); peak 16,310 in 1890 · Area: 574 sq mi · Time zone: Central

About Clay County

Clay County lies on the level loess plain of south-central Nebraska, in the heart of the Rainwater Basin. Clay Center, the county seat, is in the middle; Sutton, the largest town, and Harvard are on US 6 in the north, with Saronville, Inland and Trumbull; Fairfield, Edgar, Glenvil, Deweese and Ong are in the south. Eldorado and Verona were railroad stops. The county is drained by the Little Blue River and Big Sandy Creek in the south and School Creek and the West Blue in the north, all part of the Big Blue basin. It borders Hamilton County on the north, York on the northeast, Fillmore on the east, Thayer on the southeast, Nuckolls on the south, Webster on the southwest and Adams on the west.

An earlier Clay County (1855–1864), in what is now Gage and Lancaster counties, was dissolved in 1864; today’s county was created on February 16, 1867. Acting Governor William H. James proclaimed it organized on September 11, 1871, and at the first election that October Sutton became the county seat. Clay Center was laid out in 1879 to win the courthouse and did, that November, after a year of contested votes. Germans from Russia settled around Sutton from 1873, Swedes around Saronville and Czechs around Deweese. In World War II the Navy’s ammunition depot took in land in the west of the county; much of it is now the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. The county has ten National Register listings, among them the courthouse, the Glenville School, St. Martin’s Church near Deweese and three Carnegie-era libraries.

Towns of Clay County

Travel Corridors

US 6 crosses the north of the county past Inland, Harvard and Saronville to Sutton. US 6 Corridor → NE 14 runs north–south through Fairfield and Clay Center to US 6 and on to Aurora and I-80 (Exit 332). Highway 14 Corridor → NE 41 begins in Clay Center and runs east to Geneva, and NE 74 crosses the south through Fairfield, with spurs to Glenvil and Ong. I-80 does not enter the county; it is 15 to 21 miles north.

Cameras: View Clay County cameras → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Things to See

The Clay County Courthouse (1917–19) and the Clay County Museum in Clay Center; the Sutton Nebraska Museum and the 1877 Isaac Newton Clark House in Sutton; the Harvard historical marker and Carnegie library in Harvard; the Glenville School (1903) in Glenvil; and the Fairfield Opera House Brewery & Grill in the 1894 opera house. The Liberty Farm Pony Express station stood half a mile northeast of Deweese.

Rainwater Basin and Outdoors

Each spring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that 7 to 9 million ducks and 2 to 3 million geese stop in the Rainwater Basin, along with sandhill cranes. Clay County has 16 federal waterfowl production areas, led by Harvard Marsh (1,484 acres), Hultine and Massie, and six state wildlife management areas: Bluewing, Bulrush, Greenwing, Greenhead, Kissinger Basin and White Front. All are open to hunting (nontoxic shot only) and wildlife watching; Kissinger Basin was closed in 2022 for whooping cranes, so check Game and Parks first. The Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District office is at Funk, (308) 216-3695. There is no state park; camping is at the Sutton RV Park and the Edgar city campground. Golf: Fox Hollow in Sutton and Crooked Creek in Clay Center, both 9 holes.

Clay County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Clay Center · Sutton · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Hamilton County (north) · York County (northeast) · Fillmore County (east) · Thayer County (southeast) · Nuckolls County (south) · Webster County (southwest) · Adams County (west).

Events

The Clay County Fair fills the fairgrounds in Clay Center in early July (July 8–11 in 2026), and the Old Trusty Antique Engine & Collectors Show returns there in mid-September. Sutton’s Dugout Days, held since the 1870s, fill a weekend in late June.

Clay County at a Glance

Clay County, Nebraska — created February 16, 1867, organized in 1871 and named for Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. County seat Clay Center. Population 6,104 in 2020, well below its 1890 peak of 16,310. 220 listings across 13 towns.

The courthouse moved in a hurry. Sutton won the first election in 1871, but in 1879 a town site company laid out Clay Center at the exact middle of the county; its backers voided votes, impeached a county judge who refused to move, lost in the Nebraska Supreme Court and carted the records off anyway, with a barbecue on October 31. Four days later Clay Center won the election that made it legal, 1,967 votes to Harvard’s 1,867.

Getting there: US 6 crosses the north through Sutton and past Harvard; NE 14 runs north–south through Fairfield and Clay Center to I-80 at Aurora; NE 41 heads east from Clay Center and NE 74 crosses the south. Central Time.

For visitors: the spring migration in the Rainwater Basin, with 16 federal waterfowl production areas and six state wildlife areas in the county; the Sutton Nebraska Museum; the Fairfield Opera House Brewery & Grill; and the county fair and Old Trusty engine show in Clay Center. Born or raised here: Hall of Fame manager Billy Southworth (born near Harvard), Governor Samuel McKelvie (born near Fairfield) and Medal of Honor recipient Jacob Volz (raised in Sutton).