Clay Center is the county seat of Clay
County. It is located at the junction of US-24 and K-15, an intersection
where you’ll find a beautiful natural geese sculpture, “The Spirit of the
Wild Things.” Clay Center is the heart of the community and features
cultural events, an arts council,
museum,
Public Library,
a
City Zoo,
City Parks, Public Utilities Department, a beautiful golf course, a
municipal airport, retail and specialty stores. You’ll find excitement at
the Clay County Fairgrounds, where
Jayhusker Racing, Inc.
races are held. Clay Center is a place where family comes first and this
provides an atmosphere where your children can grow up and be nurtured in a
community that has a lot to offer. Our school system is excellent and most
of the facilities are new or have been recently renovated. The youth of Clay
Center enjoy various types of sports and activities year round, including
baseball, softball, soccer, 4-H clubs, scouting, swimming, football,
wrestling, dancing, and basketball. The Clay County Medical Center provides
excellent health care. There are seven local doctors and one surgeon, with
an outpatient clinic that is served by other area specialists that come in
to expand the local care potential. All of your shopping needs can be met in
Clay Center along with specialty shops in the surrounding Clay County
communities. The merchants of Clay Center are eager to meet you and soon
will be calling you by your first name.
Clay Center Zoo
Clay County Museum
Pinsetter’s
Browndale Farms
In 1859, the town of Clifton was established
in Clay County. Today, Clifton contains a number of churches, a good
newspaper and school, a bank, and other stores in the community. Clifton is
located on the northern edge of the Republican River Valley, and has the
unique distinction of being in two counties. Highway 9, Clifton’s main
street, divides the city; half lies in Washington County to the north and
the other half in Clay County to the south.
Green, Kansas is a little community nestled
in the hills of northeastern Clay County. Green got its name in 1868, when
Kansas Governor Nehemiah Green, a staunch Methodist, took office after
Governor Samuel Crawford left to become the colonel of a Kansas regiment
organized to fight the Indians. Governor Green offered to buy a bell for the
first Methodist Church to be established in a town named “Green.” The people
of Green took the challenge and the governor made good on his promise.
Today, this very same bell calls the people of Green to worship each Sunday.
Longford sits among the rolling hills
of southwest Clay County. Established in 1875 along a Santa Fe railroad spur
to the cowtown of Abilene, Kansas, it has been a vital part of history ever
since. It now boasts the purest water
in Kansas (a real treat for anyone who hasn’t tasted it),
a talented local artist, and some of the best food, served at the regionally
known Coachlight Restaurant. Add to all this a thriving business district, a
welcoming place to worship and you’ve got a terrific place to live or visit.
So if you’re planning an outing or looking for a great place to live, make
sure Longford is on your itinerary. On a warm night every September, you can
still find cowboys “working the cattle” in Longford, Kansas. On Labor Day
weekend every year, Longford becomes home to the PRCA-sanctioned
Longford rodeo. The first community-sponsored rodeo was held in 1955 and
continues to this day. It’s packed with all the thrills and excitement of
cattle drives and “cowboy” recreation of the 1800s. The rodeo is sponsored
by the Longford Rodeo Club, The Longford Lions Club, and the Longford
community.
Longford Water Company
Morganville was the smallest town ever to be
part of the international “Sister City” program. In 1948, the town adopted
the community of Feves, France. The story of their project was broadcast on
Elmore M. McGee’s award-winning NBC program “The
People Act” during Christmas, 1953. A hand-carved picture sent by the people
of Feves to the people of Morganville as a thank you for the help they had
given the French community is in the Morganville cafe.
The city of Oak Hill, established in 1866,
was originally a settlement in Oakland Township. A small store was opened in
the house of a settler. He named the store Oak Hill. This settler was also
the first postmaster of Oak Hill. The Santa Fe railroad was built in 1887.
During the railroad days, Oak Hill serviced a freight, cattle and passenger
train. Oak Hill was incorporated in 1925 and has a
Mayor-Council form of government. A new city hall was built in 2002. Located
nearby is Harder Park with picnic facilities and playground equipment.
Blackberry Mercantile
Oakhill Pottery
Vining, or West Clifton, was laid out in the
fall of 1877 by Amanda and Winslow Haynes, and Oliver Cooper. Amanda Haynes
was the widow of John G. Haynes, who was the proprietor of the third Clifton
town site. She laid out West Clifton in 48 blocks of both sides of the
Clay-Washington county line. West Clifton was the result of a
disagreement between the railroad companies as to the location of a depot.
Consequently, the Jefferson City and Fort Kearney Railroad (Union Pacific)
branched off and started a town of their own with the assistance of Haynes
and Cooper. West Clifton’s name was changed to Vining in 1881, in honor of
E. P. Vining, Union Pacific General Freight Agent. In the spring of 1879, P.
H. Stepps opened a hardware store in Vining. The grain elevator was opened
the same year, along with a hotel and several other businesses. Vining was
incorporated in 1885.
The first actual settler on the site of
Wakefield was James Gilbert, who came in 1858. The town site for Wakefield
was selected and laid out by Rev. Richard Wake, John Wormald, Alexander
Maitland and Col. Loomis on Aug. 26, 1869. The colonel named the town
Wakefield, partly in honor of Rev. Richard Wake and partly because
Wakefield, England was the former home of John Wormald.
Kansas Birding Festival
Kansas Landscape Arboretum
