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Founded in 1857 and named for the Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, Clay County was settled in north-central Kansas by sturdy farmers who were drawn to the area’s fertile soil, picturesque Republican River Valley and numerous creeks and streams. Agriculture remains a primary industry here to this day; however, we have also diversified our interests.
Clay County is situated in the second tier of counties south of the State of Nebraska, about one hundred miles west of the Missouri River, and lies on the east side of the sixth principal meridian. It is bounded on the north by Washington, on the east by Riley and Davis counties, on the south by Dickinson, and on the west by Ottawa and Cloud counties, between which extends the sixth principal meridian. It lies wholly within the valley of the Republican River, which enters at the northwest corner, and flows southeast through the center of the county, one-half of which consists of first and second bottom lands. It is, therefore, destined to be one of the richest agricultural counties in the State.
The valley land, which is about sixty percent of the county, is exceedingly rich. The soil a rich, black loam and bottom deposit is from four to ten feet in depth. The drainage of most of this land is good, the soil being porous, with a gradual slope towards the river whose bed is sufficiently deep to prevent extensive overflows. The soil is not so well adapted to the growth of wheat as that of the Smoky Hill and Solomon valleys, but produces a good quality with a fair yield, but is admirably adapted to all other grains. The hills skirting the valley are generally low and rounded, in a few places broken. The upland prairie is beautifully undulating, and only in a few places too broken, to be easily tilled. The soil of the uplands is not so fertile as that of the valley, principally because it is not so deep, averaging a depth of perhaps two and a half feet. Yet it is rich, exceedingly friable, well adapted to general farming, and excellent for grazing; producing the native grasses in great abundance.
The county is well watered, every part having streams of running water. The central portion, from the northwest to the southeast corner is watered by the devious windings of the great Republican River, a difficult and treacherous stream to dam, but furnishing, when properly dammed, immense water power throughout the year. The river is broad and shallow, but there are but few places where it can be forded, on account of the quicksand bottom, which is constantly shifting and changing the water channel. Tributary to the Republican, from the north, are Peach, Huntress, Deep and Mall creeks, and from the west Five Creeks Creek, the last being the largest. The northeast corner of the county is watered by Fancy Creek, and the southwest part by Chapman, the largest creek in the county and a tributary of the Smoky Hill River.
The principal building material, besides an excellent quality of brick clay, is limestone, which abounds in vast quantities, and in all qualities, in every part of the county.
1 files, last one added on Aug 22, 2008
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