Clay County was created by the Tennessee General Assembly on June 16, 1870. The county was formed from the secluded northern parts of Jackson County and of Overton County. The citizens believed that, with this new county, they would have greater opportunities to participate in self-government rather than continue to be part of a larger county to which they were connected by only a few trails and no roads. The first session of the county court met in Mary Robert's store in the community of Butler's Landing, where the city of Celina was chosen as the county seat by a narrow margin.1 The name Clay County comes from the American statesman, member of the United States Senate. United States, and Speaker of the United States House Henry Clay.2 Mississippi Indians are believed to be some of the earliest residents of Clay County. Other tribes including Cherokee, Iroquois, Chickasaw, and Shawnee have also resided in the county. The first white man in the area was the Frenchman Martin Chartier. He arrived as part of the Shawnee hunting party around 1691 and, it is believed, remained the...