HISTORY: Clay County
From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875

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CLAY COUNTY.

	Clay is in the second tier from the north line of Iowa, and is the third 
county from the west boundary of the state. It is twenty-four miles square, 
containing an area of 368,640 acres. The Little Sioux River and its tributaries 
afford water and drainage in nearly all portions of the county. This stream, with 
its serpentine windings, has a length of not less than seventy miles within the 
limits of Clay County, and furnishes quite a number of good water powers. Its 
largest tributary is Ocheydan Creek, which rises in Osceola County and, flowing 
in a southeasterly direction, empties into Little Sioux River near Spencer. Both 
these streams have broad, rich and beautiful valleys. Among other smaller 
streams are Willow, Prairie, Henry and Muddy Creeks. The eastern portion of 
the county has several small lakes, the most important of which are Lost Island 
Lake, Swan Lake, Pickerel Lake, Virgin Lake and Mud Lake. Fish abound in 
some of them. 
	The county has a very limited supply of native timber, but more than 
some of the other counties in this part of the state. The surface is undulating 
prairie, with scarcely any waste land, and the soil is exceedingly fertile. The 
staple productions are wheat, oats, corn, grass and the various root crops. The 
county is well adapted to grazing, on account of the abundance of nutritious wild 
grass and pure water.

HISTORICAL.

	The first settlement of whites in the county was made in July, 1856, by 
Ambrose S. Mead and Christian Kirchner with their families. The former built 
his cabin on section 34, township 94, range 38, and the latter on section 32 of 
the same township and range. John J. Bicknell had the honor of holding the plow 
that broke the first soil in the county, while Ambrose S. Mead was honored by 
driving the oxen. In the Fall of 1856 there were several more families came in, 
to wit; James Bicknell, Ezra Wilcox and two men named Gillett.
	In the latter part of February, 1857, the Indians, on their way to Spirit 
Lake before the massacre, visited the infant settlement in this county, killed four 
head of cattle belonging to Mr. Kirchner, and drove away ten horses and five or 
six of cattle belonging to Mr. Mead. Passing on to what was known as Gillett's 
Grove, they drove away forty head of cattle, four horses, and destroyed most of 
the personal property of the Gilletts. The five or six families in the county, in 
consequence of this raid, fled and were away several months. The first marriage 
was that of John A. Kirchner and Mary J. Bicknell, daughter of James Bicknell. 
The first birth was that of Ella, a daughter of these parties. The first death was 
that of Clay Crego, infant son of Y. B. Crego. A barn erected by C. Kirchner 
was the first frame building in the county.
	The county organization was perfected October 18, 1858, and the 
following were the first county officers; Charles C. Smeltzer, Judge; Solomon 
M. Foreman, Treasurer and Recorder, and also County Surveyor; Ezra M. 
Wilcox, Clerk; John Kindelsperyer, Drainage Commissioner; C. Kirchner, Sr., 
Coroner; and Ambrose S. Mead, Superintendent of Schools.
	At the time of the organization nearly all the settlers were in the 
southwest corner of the county, and Peterson was made the county seat. There 
was at this place a considerable body of timber and a good water power on the 
Little Sioux, on which John A. Kirchner erected a grist and saw mill.

COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1875.

	L. M. PEMBERTON, Auditor.		ACKLEY HUBBARD, 
Clerk.
	MARION E. GRIFFIN, Treasurer.		A. H. CHENEY, 
Recorder.
	WILLARD A. BENTON, Sheriff.		JAMES F. THOMPSON, 
Supt. Com. Schools.
P. PAGE OLMSTEAD, Chairman of Board of Supervisors.

SPENCER.

	This place is now the county seat, and is situated on the east side of the 
Little Sioux. The valley here is broad, and unsurpassed in fertility. The first 
settlement of the present town of Spencer dates back only to 1869. Soon after 
the first settlement of the county, George E. Spencer laid out a town on the 
opposite side of the river, but there was never a house on the town plat. Its 
proprietor soon after became an officer in the Union army, and, after the war, a 
United States Senator from the State of Alabama. The proprietors of the new 
town laid out ten years later saw proper to retain the name. The river affords 
good water power at this point.