Clay county, was formed in 1807 from Madison, Floyd, and Knox counties. It is located in the Eastern Coal Field region of the state. The elevation in the county ranges from 690 to 2235 feet above sea level. In 1990 the county population was 21,746 in 2000 the population was 24,556, an increase of 12.9%. The county seat is Manchester. Most of Clay county is within the Daniel Boone National Forest. Collins Fork took its name from James Collins, who in 1798, was the first settler, or first white man known to have entered within the present boundaries of Clay County. He built his cabin upon the headwaters of Collins' Fork; and in 1800, at a salt spring which he had discovered when following a buffalo trail, some months previously, made the first salt ever made in the county. Red Bird Fork and Jack's Creek was named from two friendly Indians bearing those names, the two were granted the privilege of hunting there; they were both murdered for the furs they had accumulated, and their bodies thrown into the waters.

Manchester, Kentucky the seat of Clay county, was established along Goose Creek in 1807 as Greenville, named for Green Clay, for whom the county was also named. It was renamed Manchester later that year since there was already a Greenville, Kentucky (in Muhlenberg county). The name Manchester may come from the city in England, reflecting local hopes for a future in industry. The post office opened in 1813 as Clay County Court House.

Clay County Vital Records Office Clay County Clerk 316 Main St, Suite 143 Manchester, KY 40962-0463 (606) 598-2544