Clay County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clay County
U.S. county
Clay County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 8, 1862 (created) 1872 (organized)
Named for	Henry Clay
Seat	Moorhead
Largest city	Moorhead
Area
• Total	1,053 sq mi (2,730 km2)
• Land	1,045 sq mi (2,710 km2)
• Water	7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  0.7%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	65,318
• Estimate  (2023)	66,258
• Density	62.5/sq mi (24.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th

Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,318. Its county seat is Moorhead.

Clay County is part of the Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Clay County was established in 1860 as Breckinridge County, and named for John C. Breckinridge, vice president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. After the Civil War began, Breckinridge joined the Confederate Army and in March 1862 the state Legislature replaced the name of Breckinridge with that of Henry Clay (1777–1852), who like Breckinridge was from Lexington, Ky., and was known "The Great Pacificator" or "The Great Compromiser" who helped head off civil war at least twice. The county's government was not organized until 1872, after the Northern Pacific Railway reached the area and settlement accelerated.

Geography

Clay County lies on the western side of Minnesota. Its western boundary line abuts the eastern boundary line of the state of North Dakota (across the Red River). The Red River flows northward along the western boundary line of the county, on its way to the Hudson Bay in Canada. The Buffalo River flows west-northwesterly through the center of the county, joined by the South Branch Buffalo River west of Glyndon, before discharging into the Red on the county's western border near Georgetown. The terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its eastern portion. The terrain slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near the southeastern corner, at 1,430 ft (440 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1,053 square miles (2,730 km²), of which 1,045 square miles (2,710 km²) are land and 7.3 square miles (19 km²) (0.7%) are covered by water.

Major highways

Transit

• MATBUS

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Moorhead have ranged from a low of 0 °F (−18 °C) in January to a high of 82 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −48 °F (−44 °C) was recorded in January 1887 and a record high of 114 °F (46 °C) was recorded in July 1936, the latter also the highest recorded temperature in the history of Minnesota. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.64 inches (16 mm) in February to 3.90 inches (99 mm) in June.

Demographics

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

• Baker
• Oakport (part of Moorhead since 2015)

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Clay (Minnesota) para niños