Clay County, Alabama

Clay County is a county of the US state of Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 13,932. Its county seat is Ashland and it is a prohibition or dry county.

History
Clay County was formed on December 7, 1866 from land taken from Randolph and Talladega County. Its name is in honor of Henry Clay, famous American statesman, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State. Clay County is one of only three counties in Alabama to have no U.S. Highways in its boundaries.

During the Desert Shield/Storm conflict, Clay County had more soldiers serving per capita than any other county in the United States.

Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 606.00 sqmi. 605.07 sqmi (or 99.85%) is land and 0.93 sqmi (or 0.15%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:Alabama 9.svg|20px]] State Route 9
 * [[Image:Alabama 48.svg|20px]] State Route 48
 * [[Image:Alabama 49.svg|20px]] State Route 49
 * [[Image:Alabama 77.svg|20px]] State Route 77

Rail

 * CSX Transportation
 * Norfolk Southern Railway

Border counties

 * Cleburne County, Alabama – north
 * Randolph County, Alabama – east
 * Tallapoosa County, Alabama – south
 * Coosa County, Alabama – southwest
 * Talladega County, Alabama – west

National protected area

 * Talladega National Forest (part)

Cities and towns

 * Ashland
 * Lineville

Notable natives

 * Hugo Black (1886–1971), born in Harlan, served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1937 until 1971
 * LaFayette L. Patterson (1888–1987), born near Delta, served three terms in the U.S. Congress from 1928 to 1933
 * Byron Lavoy Cockrell (1935–2007), born in Lineville, rocket scientist and engineer
 * Bob Riley (b. 1944), Alabama's 52nd governor, native of Ashland

Places of interest
Clay County is home to parts of Cheaha State Park in the Talladega National Forest and Lake Wedowee on the eastern boundary. The Pinhoti Trail system weaves its way through the Talladega National Forest to Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. Hikers along the trail may see some of the local wildlife, including whitetail deer, wild turkey, and the rare bald eagle.