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County · code 46027

Clay CountySouth Dakota

Clay County is a county in South Dakota with its seat in Vermillion, formed in 1862 by the Dakota Territory.

  • Founded1862
  • County seatVermillion
  • Named forHenry Clay
  • Land area412 sq mi + 5.4 sq mi water
  • Population14,967 2020 Census
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Updated

UnionCedar, NEYanktonDixon, NE Vermillion Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Clay on the map of South Dakota

South Dakota has 66 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Aurora CountyBeadle CountyBennett CountyBon Homme CountyBrookings CountyBrown CountyBrule CountyBuffalo CountyButte CountyCampbell CountyCharles Mix CountyClark CountyCodington CountyCorson CountyCuster CountyDavison CountyDay CountyDeuel CountyDewey CountyDouglas CountyEdmunds CountyFall River CountyFaulk CountyGrant CountyGregory CountyHaakon CountyHamlin CountyHand CountyHanson CountyHarding CountyHughes CountyHutchinson CountyHyde CountyJackson CountyJerauld CountyJones CountyKingsbury CountyLake CountyLawrence CountyLincoln CountyLyman CountyMcCook CountyMcPherson CountyMarshall CountyMeade CountyMellette CountyMiner CountyMinnehaha CountyMoody CountyOglala Lakota CountyPennington CountyPerkins CountyPotter CountyRoberts CountySanborn CountySpink CountyStanley CountySully CountyTodd CountyTripp CountyTurner CountyUnion CountyWalworth CountyYankton CountyZiebach CountyClay County Clay
Counties of South Dakota · Clay highlighted

History

Founded in 1862

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Clay County was created by the Dakota Territory in 1862 from non-county area and named after Henry Clay. When South Dakota became a state in 1889, Clay County became one of its counties. In 1902, Clay County officially gained an island in the Missouri River from Dixon County, Nebraska, after Congress consented to the boundary change and county voters approved it.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

  1. 1862
    Clay County created Clay created by Dakota Territory in present South Dakota from non-county area. · Dak. Terr. Laws 1862, 1st sess., ch. 13/p. 242
  2. 1889
    Became part of South Dakota Clay became a county in the state of South Dakota. · U.S. Stat., vol. 25, ch. 180[1889]/pp. 676-684; U.S. Stat., vol. 26, no. 5/pp. 1548-1549; Swindler, 9:107-109; Van Zandt, 134
  3. 1897
    Changed United States Congress consented to a boundary change between South Dakota and Nebraska, whereby Clay would gain an island in the Missouri River from Dixon (Neb.). The island was formed in April 1881 when the Missouri River suddenly changed course. Change was not officially implemented by Clay until 1902 when voters approved the gain.
    Dixon (Neb.)
    · Schell, Clay County, 31-32; Schell, History of Clay County, 102-104; U.S. Stat., vol. 30, ch. 12[1897]/p. 214; Neb. Laws 1897, 25th sess., ch. 121/p. 458
  4. 1902
    Gained territory Clay officially gained an island in the Missouri River from Dixon (Neb.); voters approved the gain 1006 to 25.
    from Dixon (Neb.)
    · Schell, History of Clay County, 102-104; S. Dak. Laws 1901, 7th sess., ch. 85/p. 109

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Clay

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Clay by the Census

Population
14,967 2020 Census count
Housing units
6,180 2020 Census count
Land area
412 square miles
Water area
5.4 square miles
People per sq mi
36 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Clay County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Clay County

When was Clay County founded?
Clay County was founded in 1862, and named after Henry Clay.
What is the county seat of Clay County?
The county seat of Clay County is Vermillion.
Is there an online parcel map for Clay County?
Not that we have found yet. Lot lines and owners of record are kept by the assessor's office. When a public parcel map appears, it shows here.
Has Clay County's boundary or name changed?
Clay County was created in 1862. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 3 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Dixon (Neb.) County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Clay County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door