A month or so back Teresa and I cruised around Clay County and harvested the rest of their town signs. I actually pieced Clay County together over like maybe 4 different trips, so I didn’t explore it as thoroughly as some counties, but still saw some interesting things.
Here are some facts about Clay County:
+ Population is 16,138 making it the 48th most populous county in Iowa. Below Madison County and above Floyd County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Spencer.
+ Named after Henry Clay, Jr., a colonel who died in the Mexican-American War. Son of a much more famous father.
+ Home of the Clay County Fair, which some people errantly claim is better than the Iowa State Fair.
+ Site of the Spencer fire of 1931 where 80 businesses were destroyed by fireworks and led to fireworks being banned in Iowa.
+ Major highways are: US-18, US-71, and IA-10.
+ Adjacent counties are Dickinson, Palo Alto, Buena Vista, and O’Brien.
+ Population peaked in 1980 at 19,576.
Clay County has a beautiful courthouse:
The Clay County Courthouse located in Spencer, Iowa.
The Clay County Freedom Rock is located in Everly, Iowa:
With Clay County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
PURPLE=COMPLETED
67 counties completed. 67.7% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Clay County:
Spencer, Iowa
SPENCER
Population: 11,325 (+92)
Everly, Iowa
First in the Nation in Education FINE Award Winners
Everly
Home of the Cattlefeeders
Population: 575 (-28)
Royal, Iowa
ROYAL
A PRINCE OF A COMMUNITY
EST. 1900
Population: 379 (-67)
Peterson, Iowa
Welcome to PETERSON
Established 1856
Population: 322 (-2)
Fostoria, Iowa
The City of FOSTORIA
Welcomes You
Population: 230 (-1)
Dickens, Iowa
DICKENS
Population: 146 (-39)
Webb, Iowa
WELCOME
WEBB
1900
Population: 138 (-3)
Greenville, Iowa
GREENVILLE CITY PARK
Population: 71 (-4)
Rossie, Iowa
Elev. 1405.00′
ROSSIE
We’ve Got More than…
ONE HORSE
Population: 49 (-21)
Gillett Grove, Iowa
WELCOME to GILLETT GROVE
HAPPY VALLEY USA
Population: 30 (-19)
For the most part, Clay County had a real solid collection of signs. But there are a couple of duds. The best I could find in Dickens was an old railroad depot sign. The best I could find in Greenville was a city park sign. For last place I’m going to give it to Greenville.
There are a few in the running for Best in Show. I really like the town signs for Everly, Royal, and Gillet Grove. However, the purple ribbon is going to Rossie for the clever tag line. Although when I visited the town, I didn’t see a place to get groceries or beer. Maybe a place to get gas.
Rossie – Best in Show – Clay County
There are a few alternates in Clay County:
Everly – Alternate
Everly – Alternate
Royal – Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adair County
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buena Vista County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cedar County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Fremont County
Best in Show – Greene County
Best in Show – Grundy County
Best in Show – Guthrie County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Hancock County
Best in Show – Hardin County
Best in Sow – Harrison County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Mahaska County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Mills County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold County
Best in Show – Sac County
Best in Show – Shelby County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will visit the town signs of Lyon County.