Local events in Clay Center
Nothing is posted for Clay Center itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Clay Center
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Clay Center began
Clay Center was founded by the land speculator William Clark at the geographic center of the original, much larger Clay Township, named for Henry Clay, in the belief that a town there would outgrow Genoa, the township's southern population center. Ottawa County was founded in 1840, when Allen Township did not exist and its northern half belonged to Clay Township; in 1883 the township and Genoa decided to build a new town hall in Genoa rather than at the center, and when Clay Township split in 1888, local tradition says because of that dispute, Clay Center fell into the new Allen Township. The village had 147 residents in 1880, peaked at 590 in 1950 and had 262 in 2020.
Where the name comes from
Named for its position at the geographic center of the original, larger Clay Township, before that township's late-1880s division.
Before the town
No source found documents a Native village, trail, or other specific site at Clay Center. The village's ground was part of the Great Black Swamp country ceded under the 1807 Treaty of Detroit.
Timeline
- — Ottawa County was established with the area that includes present Clay Center still part of a single, larger Clay Township.
- — The census counts 147 residents in Clay Center, the earliest figure on record for the village.
- — Clay Township and Genoa debated building a new town hall at Genoa rather than at the township's geographic center in Clay Center; the decision for Genoa fed resentment in the township's outlying areas.
- — Clay Township split, and Clay Center was placed in Allen Township rather than the township whose center it had been founded to serve.
- — The census counts 590 residents, the village's peak; the figure drops to 446 in 1960 and 370 in 1970.
- — The census counts 327 residents, then 289 in 1990, 294 in 2000 and 276 in 2010.
- — The census counts 262 residents in the village, in the southern part of Allen Township.
- — Village population was estimated at about 251.
Stories
A town built to be the center of something that stopped existing
William Clark platted Clay Center with a simple bet: a settlement at the exact geographic middle of Clay Township ought eventually to outgrow Genoa, the township's older population center sitting off to one side. For a while the rivalry played out through ordinary local politics -- roads, schools, and, in 1883, the question of where to put a new town hall. Genoa won that argument, and the town hall and opera house went up there instead of at the township's center, a decision the outlying parts of the township apparently did not forget. Within a few years the resentment had hardened into an actual split: Clay Township divided in the late 1880s, and when the dust settled Clay Center found itself annexed into Allen Township rather than remaining the geographic anchor of Clay Township, the very entity its name and location had been built around. The name stayed the same; the township it described did not.
Photographs
Photo: James St. John, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org
Water
No water-system data is linked to Clay Center's ZIP codes yet.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Clay Center, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43408 Clay Center | 100% | Mostly private wells | Too few radon tests | Median year built 1923 | Genoa Area Local · 3.5 stars overall | 0.0% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Clay Center, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Who holds office
| Office | Name | Party | Term ends | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Melvin E. Sprauer | 2027-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | |
| Clerk/Treasurer | William Scott | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | ||
| Council Member | Chelsea Reamsnyder [Appt] | 2027-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | |
| Council Member | Christopher Sizemore | 2027-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | |
| Council Member | Timothy P. Sheahan | 2029-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | |
| Council Member | Roxanne Marie Sizemore | 2029-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | |
| Council Member | Mindi Fisher | 2029-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 | |
| Council Member | Alan Fisher | 2029-12-31 | 420 Main St., P.O. Box 52 Clay Center, OH 43408 |
Roster as of 2026-04-10: county board of elections.
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | Member of Council | Timothy P. Sheahan 33, 25.98%; Mindi Fisher 32, 25.2%; Alan Fisher 31, 24.41%; Roxanne Marie Sizemore 31, 24.41% |
| 2023-11-07 | Member of Council | Christopher Sizemore 49, 100.0% |
| 2023-11-07 | Mayor | Melvin E. Sprauer 45, 100.0% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.
The county
Ottawa County: 15 ZIP codes, 19 cities, villages and townships, 38,204 people.
Nearby places
No nearby place shares a ZIP code with Clay Center in the atlas yet.
Rain and snow
How much has actually fallen on Clay Center, day by day, from 1871 to now. Daily totals, not averages.
- rain, last 30 days
- 1.54 in
- 2026-09-29 to 2026-10-28
- rain so far in 2026
- 35.0 in
- 5.6 in above normal for the date
- snow so far in 2026
- 15.0 in
- a normal year brings 28.0 in
- a normal year
- 34.4 in
- average of 30 years, 1991-2020
| Month | Rain (in) | Snow (in) | Days counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 1.54 | — | 28 |
| September 2026 | 3.82 | — | 30 |
| August 2026 | 4.91 | — | 31 |
| July 2026 | 6.42 | — | 31 |
| June 2026 | 3.83 | — | 30 |
| May 2026 | 2.47 | — | 31 |
| April 2026 | 6.04 | — | 30 |
| March 2026 | 4.45 | 0.0 | 31 |
| February 2026 | 0.34 | 1.4 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 1.23 | 13.6 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 1.78 | 4.9 | 31 |
| November 2025 | 1.60 | 4.2 | 30 |
| Wettest year | 2011 — 51.8 in |
|---|---|
| Driest year | 1963 — 20.3 in |
| Snowiest year | 2014 — 70.8 in |
| Wettest day on record | 5 July 1969 — 4.31 in |
| Heaviest snowfall in a day | 28 February 1900 — 16.77 in |
| Deepest snow on the ground | 10 February 1982 — 20.71 in |
Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Clay Center, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.
56,914 days of records, 1871-01-01 to 2026-10-28. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.
Quick answers
What county is Clay Center, Ohio in?
Clay Center is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, with 262 residents.
How did Clay Center, Ohio get its name?
Named for its position at the geographic center of the original, larger Clay Township, before that township's late-1880s division. Source
What ZIP code is Clay Center, Ohio?
Most of Clay Center is in ZIP code 43408.
Where does Clay Center, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Clay Center: Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Clay Center, Ottawa County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/clay-center/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31
