Clay County was created from parts of Early and Randolph counties in 1854.  It was named for Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky.  There are two incorporated municipalities within the county:  Fort Gaines, the county seat, and Bluffton.

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.  It remained a key market until about 1858, when railroads replaced river freight.

Communities in Clay County include Bluffton and the county seat, Fort Gaines.