Clay

Formed April 5, 1862 (4^th county)

Clay County (14,966), Vermillion (11,696)

A 1913 masonry and stone Neo-Classical courthouse is the current courthouse in Vermillion.  The building is on a square at Main, Washington, National, and High streets.  South Dakota State Highway 19 is eight blocks to the northwest of the site.  Lloyd D. Willis provided the designs for the courthouse.  A Law Enforcement addition connects on the west side.  Veterans memorials are on the grounds.  The earlier courthouse was built in 1882 in Vermillion, the only county seat.  The county was established on April 5, 1862 as an original county (4^th county.)  The county is named for United States Secretary of State Henry Clay.  Vermillion is Native American for “red stream.”  Clay County is the birthplace of 1 South Dakota governor, Carl Gunderson. 

Clay County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners.  Six Circuit Court Judges and One Magistrate Court Judge serve Clay, Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook, Turner, Union and Yankton counties.  The county is on the southeast border with Nebraska.  The Missouri River forms its southern border.  Sioux Falls, South Dakota is northeast and Pierre, South Dakota is northwest of the county.  The county center is 10.5 miles Northwest of Vermillion.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lincoln and Union counties and Nebraska and Yankton and Turner counties. 

The area of the county is 412 square miles.  It is 66 out of 66 in the state. It ranks 14 out of 66 in population in the state.  It has a density of 36.3 persons per square mile making it 9 out of 66 in the state.  Clay County has 81.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 29 travels the eastern border of the county from north to south from Lincoln County to Union County.  The county looks like a plow facing south.  Vermillion is located near the southern border of the county.  Vermillion is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 78.2% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced VER-MILL-YUN.  This county is in the Vermillion Micropolitan Statistical Area.