Clay is a home rule-class city in Webster County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the United States. The population was 1,031 at the 2020 census. Settled in 1837, the city is named for the statesman

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

. In 2022, it became a wet city after a petition put the measure on the ballot.

History

A post office was established in 1837 when the community was called Ashland, for Henry Clay's Lexington estate. It was renamed Clay in 1854. The city incorporated as "Claysville" in 1860, though the name was shortened to "Clay" in 1872.

Geography

Clay is located at . The city is concentrated around the intersection of

Kentucky Route 109 Kentucky Route 109 (KY 109) is an north–south state highway that traverses four counties in western Kentucky's Pennyrile region. It traverses Christian, Hopkins, Webster, and Union counties. Route description Christian County ...

and

Kentucky Route 132 Kentucky Route 132 (KY 132) is a long state highway in Kentucky that runs from Kentucky Route 120 northeast of Marion to Kentucky Route 56 in Sebree via Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minera ...

, northwest of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

. The city of Wheatcroft lies just to the west along KY 109. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,179 people, 485 households, and 333 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 541 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.15%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.25%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.17% Asian, 0.17%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.25% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.34% of the population. There were 485 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,625, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $30,729 versus $16,538 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,545. About 10.7% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over. The city was featured in

The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group from Staunton, Virginia. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening a ...

' song "How are Things in Clay, Kentucky?" (1980). The song was later covered by Wilson Fairchild, the country duo composed of Wil and Langdon Reid, sons of The Statler Brothers' two actual brothers, Harold and Don Reid.

Education

The Webster County School District operates the public schools that serve Clay. Clay Elementary School serves students Pre-School-6. In the late 1990s, a new gym and cafeteria were built for the school. Webster County High School (in Dixon) serves high school students, while the Middle School is attached to the High School

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1837 Cities in Kentucky Cities in Webster County, Kentucky Evansville metropolitan area