Clay County, Illinois

County: Clay

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 38.8333, -88.4833

The Illinois General Assembly created Clay County in 1824 from parts of Fayette, Wayne, Lawrence, and Crawford counties. In 1825, commissioners appointed for the purpose located the new county’s seat on a site they named Hubbardsville, which they renamed to Maysville later that year. In 1841, the legislature approved removal of the county seat, and commissioners chose Louisville as the new county seat.

“An Act Forming a New County out of Part of Wayne, Lawrence, Crawford, and Fayette,” 23 December 1824, Laws of Illinois (1825), 18-20; History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois (Chicago: Globe, 1884), 322-23, 326-27; An Act to Authorize the Relocation of the County Seat of Clay County.