Clay County, Iowa

24 topographic sheets cover 14 settlements here, and 9 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

9 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Iowa within the United States

Clay County within Iowa

What the record shows

109 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
9 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 6 buildings, 2 districts and 1 structure.
The Geographic Names Information System records 14 populated places in this county; 14 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Property	Type	Listed	Reference
Adams-Higgins House	building	1984	84001214
Clay County Courthouse	building	1981	81000229
Grand Avenue Historic Commercial District	district	2004	04001322
Philip and Anna Parrish Kirchner Log House	building	1993	93000897
Little Sioux River Bridge	structure	1998	98000810
Logan Center School No.5	building	2001	00001652
North Grand Avenue Residential Historic District	district	2014	14000212
Spencer High School and Auditorium	building	2010	10000002
Wanata State Park Picnic Shelter	building	1990	90001677

Wildfire, 2005 to 2020

34 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 34 of them, burning about 1,347 acres. 2 started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	23
Debris and open burning	5
Smoking	2
Natural	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	1
Equipment and vehicle use	1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
1 April 2015	Equipment and vehicle use	700 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
6 September 2019	Debris and open burning	200 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
23 March 2012	Smoking	145 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
8 September 2012	Natural	100 acres	Iowa Wetland Management District	SMITH SLOUGH WF
11 March 2006	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	40 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
8 April 2019	Debris and open burning	33 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
9 April 2019	Debris and open burning	33 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named
14 January 2006	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	15 acres	Iowa Department of Natural Resources	not named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1954 to 2026

60 of 663 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 663 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 1 injury and about $35,828,780 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event	Reports
Hail	250
Thunderstorm Wind	188
Flood	165
Tornado	38
Flash Flood	18
Heavy Rain	2
Lightning	1
Funnel Cloud	1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2024	Flood	Peterson	1 killed, $25,590,000	Rainfall amounts across Clay County from June 20-22 ranged from 3 to 7 inches. Farther north and upstream, up to 10 inches of rain fell across portions of northwest Iowa. This rainfall resulted in extensive overland flooding and record flooding along the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. \|\|The city of Spencer experienced catastrophic flooding when waters from the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers overtopped the city's berm system. At peak flooding, approximately 383 people were rescued, leaving hundreds of residents displaced. Eighty homes had collapsed or caved-in foundations and roughly 2,100 structures of the 5,100 throughout the city were damaged by flood waters. Numerous others had sewage backup into their basements. \|\|Many other residences outside of Spencer were also impacted by flood water. County-wide, over 2,400 households were approved for federal disaster assistance, at a cost of over 22 million dollars. Widespread overland flooding also resulted in numerous township, county, and state roads inundated with water and closed. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure to be 3.59 million dollars.\|\|One direct fatality occurred on June 22 when a man drowned after attempting to drive across a flooded road with rapidly flowing water. The vehicle was swept off the roadway and moved downstream before coming to rest along a tree line. \|\|The majority of overland flooding subsided by June 25, but river flooding continued through the end of the month. For additional information on river flooding, please see other entries for Clay County.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Rossie	1 hurt, $10,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down walls of a storage building, causing the building to collapse. Falling rubble injured one man while he was walking to his vehicle after work.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	county wide	$2,500,000	no account filed
March 2019	Flood	Peterson	$550,000	Flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.
June 2014	Flood	Fostoria	$500,000	Persistent heavy rains caused moderate to major flooding of the Little Sioux River. Farmland, other lowlands including parks, and several roads near the river were flooded, including in the city of Spencer. Some homes were flooded, mainly in basements. The river crested at 5.18 feet above flood stage at Spencer on June 20th.
September 2005	Hail	Everly	$500,000	Large hail fell in an area around 20 miles long and 3 to 5 miles wide. The hail was quarter to golf ball size over most of the area but reached baseball size at Everly. The hail, driven by accompanying damaging winds, broke windows in buildings and vehicles, dented vehicles, and damaged roofs and siding on homes and other buildings. Besides Everly and Webb, the communities of Greenville and Rossie were also affected. The hail covered the ground over much of the area, and was blown into drifts as high as 3 feet. Corn and soybean crops were heavily damaged, with the greater damage to soybean crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
September 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Everly	$500,000	Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree, power pole, and power line damage along a path around 20 miles long and roughly 5 miles wide. Numerous trees were blown down, some blocking roads, forcing law enforcement to close all roads leading to Everly. Damage to structures was also reported, including shingles blown off roofs, siding damaged, and several small outbuildings and other rural structures destroyed or heavily damaged. Power outages resulted in Everly and in several rural areas. Besides Everly and Webb, the communities of Greenville and Rossie were also affected. The winds also contributed to damage caused by accompanying large hail, and blew the hail into drifts. The amount of crop damage was not known.
May 2004	Hail	Spencer	$500,000	Large hail caused widespread damage to vehicles, windows, and roofs. Crop damage was also extensive in the area with over one hundred thousand acres of corn, beans, and other small grain crops affected during this storm and another hail storm which occurred later in the day. The amount of crop damage was not known.
May 2004	Hail	Spencer	$500,000	Large hail damaged vehicles, broke windows, and damaged roofs and siding. Crop damage was also extensive with over one hundred thousand acres of corn, bean, and other small grain crops affected during this storm and another hail storm in the area earlier in the day. The amount of crop damage was not known. Property damage was in addition to the damage from the earlier storm.
June 2004	Tornado (F2)	Everly	$500,000	A tornado destroyed a hog barn, killing ten hogs, destroyed a greenhouse, destroyed a barn, outbuildings, a machine shed and a garage, and damaged several other farm structures including a horse barn. Several horses were injured. At least two houses were damaged, with windows blown out. Several vehicles were also damaged. Numerous power lines and trees were blown down. The tornado also damaged crops.
August 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Edgewood	$500,000	Thunderstorms moved across northeast Iowa throughout the night. In what appeared to be a downburst situation, high winds struck a farm near Edgewood. A narrow path could be seen in the fields surrounding the farm. The farmstead that sustained damage reported one barn blown down by the winds. Sixty head of cattle were within the barn, 12 of them were killed in the collapse. The garage was pulled away from the farm house and toys were strewn across the fields downwind. A chopper box was also overturned.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Farmersburg	$500,000	no account filed
March 2019	Flood	Fostoria	$300,000	Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 1.78 inches 4 miles northwest of Milford and 1.59 inches 3 miles south southeast of Lake Park) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands and several county roads. Little Sioux River near Milford (gage site MIFI4) reached the second highest stage on record cresting 6.02 feet above flood stage on March 18.
June 2008	Tornado (EF2)	Royal	$300,000	A tornado destroyed or heavily damaged numerous outbuildings on at least 8 affected farmsteads, with damaged buildings including several large sheds. The tornado damaged numerous grain bins, most of which were carried off their foundations, with some being carried as much as a half mile. The ornado also overturned a camper, blew the top off a silo, destroyed a garage, broke windows on a house, and caused considerable damage to trees, power poles, and power lines.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Spencer	$300,000	Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, with several streets blocked by fallen trees. Some vehicles were damaged by tree debris. The winds tore a wall and part of the roof from a racquet club building. Power lines and poles were blown down, resulting in a one hour power outage which affected almost all of the city of Spencer.
July 1986	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$250,000	no account filed
June 1984	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$250,000	no account filed
June 1984	Tornado (F2)	not stated	$250,000	no account filed
May 2004	Tornado (F1)	Royal	$230,000	A tornado destroyed a farm house and several other buildings on a farm.
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Greenville	$150,000	Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and power line damage, with many trees blown down. Power lines and poles were blown down along a stretch of several miles. One large tree severely damaged a pickup and trailer when it was blown down. The winds also destroyed small farm buildings and damaged equipment. The winds and accompanying small hail damaged crops, but the amount of crop damage was not known.
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Peterson	$100,000	Thunderstorm winds severely damaged a small house and caused widespread tree damage.
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Gillett Grove	$100,000	Thunderstorm winds destroyed a 30 foot by 70 foot hog house, and destroyed smaller farm buildings. The winds damaged the roof, siding, and windows of the house on the farm. The winds also caused tree and power line damage and flattened corn crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
June 2014	Flood	Everly	$50,000	Persistent moderate to heavy rain caused flooding of fields and other lowlands, including several roads, homes, and businesses. This flooding lasted for almost two days, and was aggravated locally by additional storms during that time. Some roads were damaged or washed out.
May 2013	Flood	Everly	$50,000	Heavy rain caused minor to moderate flooding of the Ocheyedan River near Spencer. Lowlands including a few roads were affected. The river crested at 2.0 feet above flood stage near Spencer on May 28th.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Fostoria	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and power line damage. Shingles were blown off roofs, and several roofs and vehicles were damaged by tree debris.
June 2004	Tornado (F3)	Webb	$50,000	A large cone shaped tornado tore a steel bridge from a road. The tornado raised a large debris cloud as it moved over open country, causing damage to crops and power lines. The tornado moved into Clay County after forming just south of the County Line.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Royal	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds cause tree damage, and blew down power lines, starting a small fire. One tree fell on and severely damaged a camper.
October 2002	Hail	Royal	$50,000	Large hail fell in an area 5 to 10 miles wide from west to east across the central part of the county. The hail caused widespread severe damage to corn and soybean crops with many crops totally destroyed. The hail also damaged vehicles and broke some windows where the largest hail fell near Royal.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkader	$50,000	no account filed
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Strawberry Point	$50,000	no account filed
June 1994	Hail	Langdon	$50,000	no account filed
June 1994	Hail	Langdon	$50,000	no account filed
August 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Spencer	$50,000	no account filed
December 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Royal	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds knocked down an old barn, with several other outbuildings damaged. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
September 1986	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
September 1980	Tornado (F3)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
May 1959	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
August 1954	Tornado (F1)	not stated	$25,000	no account filed
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Spencer	$20,000	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a large tree that fell on and damaged a house.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Langdon	$20,000	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, and blew the roof off a building.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Everly	$20,000	no account filed
July 1995	Hail	not stated	$20,000	no account filed
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Marquette	$20,000	no account filed
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Maclay	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds destroyed a barn, and spread the debris across several fields.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Spencer	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous trees blown down. The winds also blew out windows.
September 2001	Lightning	Peterson	$10,000	Lightning struck a radio antenna on a house. A radio and converter box were destroyed. Several other pieces of electrical equipment on or in the house were damaged including a television satellite dish and converter boxes, computer, garage door opener, water softener, central vac system, and sky lights. Lightning also struck a tree next to another house, splitting open the tree from top to bottom.
October 2019	Flood	Fostoria	$5,000	Rainfall from October 1-5 totaled 4.81 inches at Lake Park, 4.61 inches at Spirit Lake, 3.85 inches 3 miles south-southeast of Lake Park and 3.34 inches 4 miles northwest of Milford. The Little Sioux River near Milford (gage site MIFI4) climbed into minor flood and crested 1.24 feet above flood stage on October 6. Flooding impacts were generally to agricultural areas near the river, however, water did briefly inundate 190th Avenue near 240th Street. Property and crop damage costs are rough estimates.
October 2019	Flood	Spencer	$5,000	Rainfall from October 1-5 totaled 4.81 inches at Lake Park, 4.61 inches at Spirit Lake, 3.85 inches 3 miles south-southeast of Lake Park and 3.65 inches at Spencer. The Little Sioux River at Spencer (gage site SPWI4) climbed into minor flood and crested 1.65 feet above flood stage on October 7. Flooding impacts were generally to agricultural areas, with water inundating the City Park in Spencer. Property and crop damage costs are rough estimates.
June 2014	Tornado (EF0)	Royal	$5,000	A brief tornado damaged a few outbuildings.
May 2012	Tornado (EF0)	Moneta	$5,000	A tornado damaged several power poles.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Dickens	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, and also damaged a roof.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Rossie	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Greenville	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines.
June 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Spencer	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds blew down signs and caused tree damage.
July 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Greenville	$5,000	no account filed
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Garnavillo	$5,000	no account filed
April 1994	Hail	Strawberry Point	$5,000	no account filed
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkader	$5,000	no account filed
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Edgewood	$5,000	no account filed
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Clayton	$5,000	no account filed

Mines and quarries

66 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 66 workings inside this county. 6 still produce and 60 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity	Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction	66

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Site	Commodity	Status
Carlson Brothers Gravel	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Clay County Pits	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Collins Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Cornell Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Eckley Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Johnson Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Kuehl Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Niemand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Norgaard Gravel	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Norgaard Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Otto Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Ralphs Sand and Gravel	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Ruthven Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Scharnburg Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Spencer Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Spencer Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Stellish Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Stolley Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Straub Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every populated place in the county

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Birchwood Estates

Spencer city · 51301 · Spencer quadrangle

8 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Cornell

Herdland township · 50585 · Sioux Rapids quadrangle

9 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Dickens

Freeman township · 51333 · On Pickerel Run · Dickens quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Everly

Lone Tree township · 51338 · On Sewer Creek · Everly quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Fostoria

Summit township · 51340 · Spencer quadrangle

8 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Gillett Grove

Gillett Grove township · 51341 · On Elk Creek · Gillett Grove quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Greenville

Gillett Grove township · 51343 · Greenville quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Langdon

Meadow township · 51301 · Dickens quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Maclay

Herdland township · 51366 · Webb quadrangle

9 sheets, 1954 to 1985

No longer a settlement
Peterson

Peterson township · 51047 · Peterson quadrangle

9 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Rossie

Lincoln township · 51357 · Greenville quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Royal

Clay township · 51357 · Royal quadrangle

7 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Spencer

Spencer city · 51301 · On Ocheyedan River · Spencer quadrangle

8 sheets, 1954 to 1985
Webb

Garfield township · 51366 · Webb quadrangle

9 sheets, 1954 to 1985

The vanished settlements of Clay County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.