Clay County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. They brought enslaved persons and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. Clay was one of several counties settled mostly by Southerners to the north and south of the Missouri River. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie. In 1860, enslaved persons made up 25% or more of the county's population.[5]
The 1828 execution of Annice, a slave owned by Jeremiah Prior, was the first to occur in Clay County.[6] She was also the first female slave executed in the state of Missouri.[7]
Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints found refuge in Clay County in November 1833 after they were driven from Jackson County, Missouri. In 1836, mobs and the Missouri State militia viciously drove the members of the church from the county.[8] Leaders of this church, most notably Joseph Smith, were imprisoned for some months in Clay County in the jail at Liberty. In May 2012, the LDS Church built the Kansas City Missouri Temple six miles southwest of the Liberty Jail site at 7001 Searcy Creek Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri.[9]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 409 square miles (1,060 km2), of which 397 square miles (1,030 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (2.8%) is covered by water.[10] It is the fourth-smallest county in Missouri by area.
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2019[15]
As of the census[16] of 2010, 221,939 people, 72,558 households, and 50,137 families resided in the county. The population density was 558 people per square mile (215 people/km2). The 93,918 housing units averaged 236 per square mile (91/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 87.46% White, 5.18% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 2.05% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races, and 2.75% from two or more races. About 5.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census[17] of 2000, 23.3% were of German, 14.5% American, 11.0% English, 10.8% Irish, and 5.6% Italian ancestry.
Of the 72,558 households, 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were not families. About 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county, the population was distributed as 25.80% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 32.30% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.
In 2015 the median income for a household in Clay County was $62,099. The income per capita in Clay county was $29,793. [18]
In 2010 the median income for a household in the county was $48,347, and for a family was $56,772. Males had a median income of $40,148 versus $27,681 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,144. About 3.80% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.40% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.
The three-person Clay County Commission oversees the issues of Clay County. The current makeup of the commissioners is two Republicans and one Democrat.
Clay County is divided into eight legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, five of which are held by Republicans and three by Democrats.
District 17 — Mark Ellebracht (D— Liberty) — consists of the communities of Birmingham, Claycomo, Glenaire, a part of Kansas City, and a part of Liberty.
Missouri House of Representatives — District 17 — Clay County (2020)[25]
District 38 — Doug Richey (R— Excelsior Springs) — consists of Excelsior Springs, part of Kansas City, part of Kearney, part of Liberty, Missouri City, Mosby, and Prathersville.
Missouri House of Representatives — District 38 — Clay County (2020)[25]
Clay County is divided into two districts in the Missouri Senate.
District 12 — Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby) – consists of the communities of Excelsior Springs, Holt, Kearney, Lawson, Missouri City, Mosby, Prathersville, and Smithville.
Missouri Senate — Senate 12 — Clay County (2018)[26]
District 17 – Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City) - consists of the communities of Avondale, Birmingham, Claycomo, Gladstone, Glenaire, Liberty, North Kansas City, Oaks, Oakview, Oakwood, Oakwood Park, Pleasant Valley, Randolph, Sugar Creek, and a part of Kansas City.
Missouri Senate — District 17 — Clay County (2020)[25]
Clay County is split between the 5th and 6th congressional districts of Missouri. The southern 30% of the county is represented by Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City).
U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 5th Congressional District — Clay County (2020)[25]
Clay County, like the rest of Missouri, has swung to the Republican Party in the 21st century, though the margins have been very close. In 2000, Al Gore famously won the county by one vote. The county, holding Kansas City, is mainly suburban in culture and remains competitive. In 2016, Donald Trump won the county while Hillary Clinton failed to improve on Barack Obama's percentages with only 41% of the vote. Joe Biden, however, did improve on those margins, winning nearly 47% of the vote in 2020; Trump still carried the county by 4%.
United States presidential election results for Clay County, Missouri[27]
^T. J. Stiles, Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil War, New York: Vintage Books, 2003, pp.10-11
^"In 1828 a slave woman named Annice drowned two of her small children in a stream; she was put upon trial, convicted, and was hung in Liberty, August 23rd following, this being the first legal execution in the county." County History: Clay County, Missouri. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
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