Clay County | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Iowa | |
 Iowa's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 43°04′51″N 95°08′58″W / 43.080833333333°N 95.149444444444°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Iowa |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Named for | Henry Clay Jr. |
| Seat | Spencer |
| Largest city | Spencer |
| Area | |
| • Total | 573 sq mi (1,480 km2) |
| • Land | 567 sq mi (1,470 km2) |
| • Water | 5.4 sq mi (14 km2) 0.9% |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 16,384 |
| • Density | 29/sq mi (11/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | claycounty |
Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,384.[1] Its county seat is Spencer.[2] Its name is in honor of Henry Clay Jr.,[3] a colonel who died in action in the Mexican–American War, and son of Henry Clay, famous American statesman from Kentucky.
Clay County comprises the Spencer, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Clay County holds the annual Clay County Fair. The first newspaper in Clay County was the Peterson Patriot which started publication in 1880.
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/5Views:6 4451 2316 9953 5192 359
-
Clay County Fair, Iowa
-
Explore Clay County, Iowa
-
Experience Spencer, Iowa
-
The World's Greatest Fair: Clay County Fair
-
The Clay County Tornadoes Part I
Transcription
Where do you go for competition, trade, agriculture, and just plain fun? To a county fair, of course, and this is a big one. Every year more than 100 county fairs are held in Iowa. Some counties even host more than one. One of the largest is in Clay County. If you need a final fair fix before winter, whether it's for the food, livestock competitions, model trains, photography, ♪ or the free entertainment, the Clay County Fair is the place to go. It runs for nine days in September with attendance reaching the 300,000 mark. One burning question on my mind is, why does it take place during the school year? Jeremy: History, I guess, would be the easiest answer why it's so late. The fair was started in 1918, roughly in this time period, and it's just continued to this day. A chance for farmers, maybe, to do one final fun thing before they harvested was probably the plan a few years ago, and that tradition has just continued to this day. Dan: It's tradition for both the fair and the local school system. For example, the Midway isn't open unless school is out. Teacher: They're also a very quiet animal. They coo to her babies. Dan: Many schools incorporate the fair into their curriculum. Jeremy: We really focus on school kids. Our fair is during the school year, so we will have over 900 third and fourth graders from throughout Northwest Iowa here, at the fair, during the week. We're going to take them through educational field trips teaching them about Iowa agriculture, Iowa industry, and even entertain them a little bit. Dan: Over the years, ag competitions here have become more regional in scope, including participants from out of state. Jeremy: At the fair, we'll sometimes see 4-Hers from up to 40 Iowa counties here represented at the fair, as well as 16 counties in southwestern Minnesota. We've really kind of become a miniature state fair, if you will, as far as a regional place for competition. Dan: Speaking of large, Jeremy boasts the largest farm machinery show at any fair in the U.S. There are more than 150 ag vendors taking up some 30 acres of the fairgrounds. I was lucky enough to spend parts of two days at the fair, but that still wasn't enough time to see everything. I checked out the photography exhibit, where I enjoyed the creativity of more than 530 exhibitors with over 2200 photos. I was also told to be sure to visit the corn display in the ag building. A highlight for fairgoers of all ages seems to be the Smokey Mountain Central Railroad, a model train first brought to the fair in 1947 by the owner of a local radio station. Jim B.: In 1947, Mr. Sanders was the owner of the radio station KICD, and he had a booth at the Clay County Fair. The people in the next booth did not show up, so at noon, he went home and brought his model train HO Scale to the fair on a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood and set it up, and it was a big success. Dan: Needless to say, the exhibit has grown a lot since then. Jim B.: The display itself is 100 ft. long and 35 ft. wide. In 1999, there were 19 tracks. Now I have 23 tracks or 23 trains running. When we built this, Mr. Sanders told me, "Build them as a display, not as a working railroad." Because the kids want to see trains moving, not backing up, hooking up and unhooking. They want things moving. These trains run 11-12 hours a day for nine days straight. Dan: I went from trains to rains. No matter what the weather, I was intent on catching some of the live outdoor entertainment. I picked up a bite to eat and hunkered down under one of the five tent stages to listen to a polka band from Minnesota that plays a bit of country music too. ♪ Marv: It's going on 40 years. I've been playing ever since I been 14 years old. Dan: It was hard to leave this toe tapping music, but I wanted to move on to explore other fair favorites, like things to eat and drink. Many community non-profits offer indoor seating, and of course food row, where we watched hungry fairgoers chomping on their own fair picks. Melinda: I've come to the fair all my life, and I've never ordered a funnel cake and I finally decided it's time. It's fried and it's sweet. You can't go wrong. Dan: You can't go wrong by attending this northwest Iowa County Fair. It's been a grand tradition in this part of the state
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 573 square miles (1,480 km2), of which 567 square miles (1,470 km2) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km2) (0.9%) is water.[4] Clay County is home to the large Barringer Slough wetland.
Major highways
Airport
The Spencer Municipal Airport is located three miles (4.8 km) northwest of the business district of Spencer. It provides service to the county and surrounding communities.
Adjacent counties
- Dickinson County (north)
- Palo Alto County (east)
- Buena Vista County (south)
- O'Brien County (west)
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 52 | — | |
| 1870 | 1,523 | 2,828.8% | |
| 1880 | 4,248 | 178.9% | |
| 1890 | 9,309 | 119.1% | |
| 1900 | 13,401 | 44.0% | |
| 1910 | 12,766 | −4.7% | |
| 1920 | 15,660 | 22.7% | |
| 1930 | 16,107 | 2.9% | |
| 1940 | 17,762 | 10.3% | |
| 1950 | 18,103 | 1.9% | |
| 1960 | 18,504 | 2.2% | |
| 1970 | 18,464 | −0.2% | |
| 1980 | 19,576 | 6.0% | |
| 1990 | 17,585 | −10.2% | |
| 2000 | 17,372 | −1.2% | |
| 2010 | 16,667 | −4.1% | |
| 2020 | 16,384 | −1.7% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 16,511 | [5] | 0.8% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2018[10] | |||
2020 census
The 2020 census recorded a population of 16,384 in the county, with a population density of 28.6719/sq mi (11.0703/km2). 96.20% of the population reported being of one race. There were 8,109 housing units of which 7,222 were occupied.[1]
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 15,025 | 92.8% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 99 | 0.6% |
| Native American (NH) | 37 | 0.23% |
| Asian (NH) | 105 | 0.64% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 2 | 0.01% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 412 | 2.51% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 704 | 4.3% |
2010 census
The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,667 in the county, with a population density of 29.292/sq mi (11.310/km2). There were 8,062 housing units, of which 7,282 were occupied.[12]
2000 census
As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 17,372 people, 7,259 households, and 4,776 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 inhabitants per square mile (12/km2). There were 7,828 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.08% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. 1.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,259 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.20% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,799, and the median income for a family was $42,769. Males had a median income of $30,163 versus $21,068 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,451. About 6.30% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.10% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The county has been based on farming. The 1980s farm crisis caused some families to have to give up their farms, and farms have been merged to industrial scale.[citation needed] The population has declined since 1980.[citation needed]
At one point Great Lakes Airlines was headquartered in Summit Township, Clay County.[14][15]
Communities
Cities
Townships
Clay County is divided into these townships:
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Clay County.[1] † county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2021 Census) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | † Spencer | City | 11,356 |
| 2 | Everly | City | 576 |
| 3 | Royal | City | 382 |
| 4 | Peterson | City | 324 |
| 5 | Fostoria | City | 232 |
| 6 | Dickens | City | 149 |
| 7 | Webb | City | 142 |
| 8 | Greenville | City | 69 |
| 9 | Rossie | City | 48 |
| 10 | Gillett Grove | City | 32 |
Politics
For most of its history, Clay County has primarily voted for Republican party candidates in presidential elections. Exceptions to this include Bull Moose candidate & former president Theodore Roosevelt winning a majority in 1912, the longest Democratic streak in its history when Franklin D. Roosevelt & Harry S. Truman were on the ballot from 1932 to 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson winning in a landslide statewide & nationally in 1964, Michael Dukakis getting a huge boost statewide thanks to the Midwest farm crisis in 1988, & Bill Clinton benefiting from Ross Perot gaining significant minorities of the county's vote in 1992 & 1996. The level of Republican support has increased significantly in recent years, with Hillary Clinton posting the worst performance since 1952 when Adlai Stevenson won an identical percentage of the county's votes at 26.1%.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 6,137 | 68.42% | 2,662 | 29.68% | 170 | 1.90% |
| 2016 | 5,877 | 68.20% | 2,249 | 26.10% | 491 | 5.70% |
| 2012 | 4,951 | 58.23% | 3,385 | 39.81% | 166 | 1.95% |
| 2008 | 4,355 | 51.83% | 3,925 | 46.72% | 122 | 1.45% |
| 2004 | 4,898 | 57.03% | 3,547 | 41.30% | 143 | 1.67% |
| 2000 | 3,992 | 52.68% | 3,294 | 43.47% | 292 | 3.85% |
| 1996 | 3,129 | 40.88% | 3,659 | 47.80% | 867 | 11.33% |
| 1992 | 3,011 | 35.93% | 3,346 | 39.93% | 2,023 | 24.14% |
| 1988 | 3,641 | 46.26% | 4,173 | 53.02% | 56 | 0.71% |
| 1984 | 4,450 | 53.51% | 3,774 | 45.38% | 92 | 1.11% |
| 1980 | 4,479 | 51.11% | 3,179 | 36.27% | 1,106 | 12.62% |
| 1976 | 4,548 | 53.51% | 3,776 | 44.42% | 176 | 2.07% |
| 1972 | 4,564 | 59.30% | 2,887 | 37.51% | 245 | 3.18% |
| 1968 | 4,325 | 56.70% | 2,840 | 37.23% | 463 | 6.07% |
| 1964 | 2,999 | 38.70% | 4,631 | 59.76% | 119 | 1.54% |
| 1960 | 5,165 | 60.03% | 3,437 | 39.95% | 2 | 0.02% |
| 1956 | 5,107 | 62.36% | 2,970 | 36.26% | 113 | 1.38% |
| 1952 | 6,271 | 72.57% | 2,258 | 26.13% | 112 | 1.30% |
| 1948 | 3,036 | 43.61% | 3,649 | 52.42% | 276 | 3.96% |
| 1944 | 3,055 | 45.43% | 3,639 | 54.12% | 30 | 0.45% |
| 1940 | 3,673 | 45.77% | 4,328 | 53.93% | 24 | 0.30% |
| 1936 | 2,774 | 36.57% | 4,691 | 61.84% | 121 | 1.60% |
| 1932 | 2,599 | 38.40% | 3,944 | 58.27% | 226 | 3.34% |
| 1928 | 3,986 | 65.51% | 2,064 | 33.92% | 35 | 0.58% |
| 1924 | 3,549 | 60.95% | 378 | 6.49% | 1,896 | 32.56% |
| 1920 | 4,471 | 80.05% | 1,001 | 17.92% | 113 | 2.02% |
| 1916 | 1,649 | 55.41% | 1,234 | 41.47% | 93 | 3.13% |
| 1912 | 679 | 24.04% | 707 | 25.04% | 1,438 | 50.92% |
| 1908 | 1,921 | 69.68% | 778 | 28.22% | 58 | 2.10% |
| 1904 | 2,154 | 78.70% | 487 | 17.79% | 96 | 3.51% |
| 1900 | 2,292 | 72.76% | 781 | 24.79% | 77 | 2.44% |
| 1896 | 1,880 | 65.99% | 933 | 32.75% | 36 | 1.26% |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "2020 Census State Redistricting Data". census.gov. United states Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 83.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Clay County, Iowa".
- ^ "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State – County". United States Census Bureau American FactFinder. Retrieved March 12, 2011.[dead link]
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Welcome to Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd." Great Lakes Airlines. December 5, 1998. Retrieved on May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Spencer city, Iowa." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 25, 2009.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
External links
Places adjacent to Clay County, Iowa | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
Municipalities and communities of Clay County, Iowa, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Townships | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
43°04′51″N 95°08′58″W / 43.08083°N 95.14944°W
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
This page was last edited on 3 April 2024, at 00:22