Committees, Commissions and Boards
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The Wears and the Selfs- two family names that are common in these parts- are the corner stones of what later became the City of Clay. While the most visible part of a community's history is the structures, the residents in the area know the longer-lasting legacy of a community's beginnings are in the relationships of the people. Family friendships that cross over generations and families entertwined through marriage create strong bonds. This is Clay's history. 
The Indians were the first to leave footprints on the reddish soil we have here. No doubt, they were attracted by the springs and abundant wildlife. The chirt in this area provided material for arrowheads, which are still being found all over Clay. One local resident has found evidence of an Indian village dating to the Woodland period.
Surrounding communities, Argo, Cedar Mount and Ayres, had colonial settlers before Clay. Ayres is on the north end inside the city's borders.
Based on records of the Presbyterian Church, the earliest documented settlers in Ayres, was circa 1806. According to one book on the history of Jefferson County, Mt. Calvary Presbyterian Church is the oldest church congregation in the county that still meets. The church cemetery has a marker noting its historical value. The cemetery is known locally as a good source for geneology research. Some of the graves have no other marking than a rock.
People from Cedar Mount, a little west of what is now Clay, wandered over to what is now the intersection of Clay-Palmerdale Road and Old Springville Road. At first, the area was called Shiloh's Beat, and Clay United Methodist Church, origionally Shiloh's Methodist Church, met in Clay. Churches were the only institutions and therefore served as a means for social interaction and mutual support. Schools were housed in the churches.
Old Springville Road used to be a segment of the main road from the Carolinas to Birmingham. The wagons came through on what was called the Georgia Road at the time. A stage coach stop was in front of the Wade home in Ayres.
Other churches came, and more people migrated to the area. Meanwhile, the community of Chalkville was also attracting settlers, and as they came, they formed churches. Later, stores came to Ayres, Clay and Chalkville.
 
Samuel Wear, a Revolutionary War soldier, settled in Clay by way of Cedar Mount. Many of his decendants are still here. His cemetery has a marker for its historical value. Some of his decendants spell their name "Ware".
Other families that trace their ancestors to Clay's early history are the Selfs, Goodwins, Chandlers, Holmes, Tuckers, Sellers, Moores, Buckners and Fraziers, according to a local historian, Fay Crawford.
The families of earlier settlers in Ayres are Taylors, Claytons, Pearsons, Perkins, Chamblees, McClendons, Hicks and Wades.
Chalkville had the Vanns Carlisles and Taylors.
In time, the post offices came. Ayres, which later was called Mt. Calvary and sometimes called Clayton's Cove, was the first in all the surrounding communities to have a post office. It was short-lived. But it opened again later. The Ayres Post Office finally closed.
In 1878, the Clay Post Office opened. As has been told through the generations, the man who was to be the post master was instructed to select a name for the post office. While sitting on his porch and seeing the red dirt on the hills, he chose the name Clay, naming our future city after the soil. Clay is certainly filled with clay and chirt, not very good for farming, but very good for building fieldstone houses and churches, which is what the residents in the area did. (see photo above)
As time passed, growth avoided our corner of Jefferson County. Instead, Pinson, Springville, Trussville, Center Point and Birmingham changed, while Clay remained a rural community, based on churches, schools and stores.
A story of Clay's history can not be told without relating that Clay used to be place of nature tourism. Alabama Caverns, later known as McCluney's Cave and Crystal Cave, attracted travelers from around the nation, until it closed for good in the 1960s. It's history includes it being a designated place as a fallout shelter. Markings in the cavern reveal that someone used it during the Civil War. A welcome center included animal oddities, which were popular in the early part of the 20th Century.
Campbell's Dude Ranch is where people from Birmingham came to camp out and go horseback riding. That area at the intersection of Deerfoot Parkway and Trussville Clay Road is now residential subdivisions.
Another natural attraction was Cosby Lake. In 1922, area behind the lake became the YMCA boy scout camp. In the 1960s, the roadside area of the lake was open to public swimming, attracting people from many surrounding communities as well as Clay residents.
The area was so beautiful, a prominent general decided to build his summer home on 600 acres here. The big home and cottages had a unique Japanese style. In 1903, he sold the property to the State of Alabama to become a training facility for delinquent girls. That property, with new buildings, is still in Clay and used as the only state home for delinquent girls.
Urban sprawl and the natural beauty, along with an expansion of the sewer system, brought development pressures to the Clay community. The residents wanted to protect the area's unique lifestyle, so they voted to form a city in June 2000. After that, the city quickly grew from development and annexations.
The City of Clay works closely with the Clay Historical Society.
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History