Clay County

Clay County was created from parts of Early and Randolph counties in 1854. It was named for Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky.

Fort Gaines grew up around a fort on the Chattahoochee River established to protect settlers during the Creek Indian Wars. The town, named for the fort's builder, General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, became a shipping point for cotton planters for many miles on both sides of the Chattahoochee River, remaining a key market until about 1858 when railroads replaced river freight.

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