For pre-formatted natality & mortality data please see Vital Statistics Reports (VSR).

For other health data resources please see the Health Data & Info section.

Health Care
Clay County had 17.4 licensed nursing home beds per 100 persons in 1999, compared with the state average of 5.5 per 100 persons. In 1999, the number of physicians in the county per 10,000 persons was 8.7, compared to the state average of 19.3. For more community indicators, please go to OASIS .

History*

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