Clay Township, Knox County

How Clay Township, Knox County began

Clay Township, in southeastern Knox County, was created out of Morgan Township and organized March 9, 1825, named for Henry Clay, the Kentucky senator and Whig statesman then at the height of his national prominence. Levi Harrod, who first settled in Clinton Township near Mount Vernon in 1803-04 along with six related pioneer families, moved into what became Clay Township's northeastern part some years before the War of 1812; wild game was so abundant in his first year that he reportedly killed sixty deer and ten bears. Several Mound Builder earthworks stand in the township's northern part, the largest about two acres in area. Its one village, Martinsburg, sits in the township's western portion, formed in 1828 by the merger of two rival villages, Hanover and Williamsburg, that had grown up on either side of a single east-west street; the unincorporated crossroads of Bladensburg lies on the township's eastern border with Jackson Township. The township has remained agricultural, recording 1,542 residents at the 2020 census.

Settled some years before 1812 (Levi Harrod, first settler within the township, after arriving in Knox County in 1803-04), platted 1828 (Martinsburg, by merger of Hanover and Williamsburg), incorporated 1825-03-09 (township created out of Morgan Township and organized).

Where the name comes from

Clay Township is named for Henry Clay, the Kentucky senator and Whig statesman, one of nine townships of that name in Ohio.

Before the town

The 1881 county history records several Mound Builder earthworks in the northern part of Clay Township: the largest, on the farm later owned by Charles Murray, covered about two acres and was still under heavy timber when the first settlers arrived; smaller mounds covering half an acre to an acre were also noted. Southern Knox County, including Clay Township, was recorded as a favorite hunting ground for Native people from Greentown and Upper Sandusky, who annually camped there for weeks during hunting season; Levi Harrod, the township's first settler, found the area still 'quite numerous' with Native residents when he arrived, and Cornelius Barkalow, who settled in 1812, recalled that his childhood playmates were Native children. Harrod also frequently found elk antlers and buffalo skulls on his land in the township's early years, evidence of animals no longer present by the time of settlement. No source names a specific nation resident within Clay Township itself.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware).

• Murray farm mound (mound) — farm later owned by Charles Murray, northern Clay Township; about two acres in area, unknown (Mound Builder) (archive.org)
• Clay Township smaller mounds (mound) — northern part of Clay Township, several mounds of half an acre to one acre each, unknown (Mound Builder) (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1803 — Levi Harrod and six related families -- the Leonards, Millses, Haineses, Knights, Harrods, and Baxters -- settle together in Clinton Township near the future site of Mount Vernon.
2. 1812 — Cornelius Barkalow's father moves the family from near Utica, Licking County, to section fifteen in Clay Township, one of only a few settlers in the township at the time; young Cornelius's playmates are Native children.
3. pre-1812 — Levi Harrod settles in the northeastern part of Clay Township before the War of 1812; local record holds that he shot 60 deer and 10 bears in his first year there.
4. 1825 — Clay Township is created out of Morgan Township and organized March 9, named for Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky; the first election is held that April in Williamsburgh.
5. 1828 — The rival villages of Hanover and Williamsburg, sitting on either side of an east-west road in the township (today's US 62/OH 541), merge and rename themselves Martinsburg.
6. 1830 — Rev. Henry Hervey is installed as pastor of the Martinsburg Old School Presbyterian church, a congregation that grows under his leadership to about 300 members; he serves until 1867.
7. 1838 — Martinsburg Academy is built, later counting future U.S. Senator William Windom among its students.
8. 1846 — The Baptist church of Martinsburg is organized May 14 with twelve members.
9. 1850 — A fire on June 21 destroys a business block in Martinsburg; a second major fire follows in February 1854, and the village never fully recovers its earlier level of commerce.
10. 2020 — Census records 1,542 residents in Clay Township.

Stories

Sixty deer, ten bears, one township

Before the War of 1812 reshaped the Ohio frontier, Levi Harrod pushed into the northeastern part of what would become Clay Township and built a life on what the land still offered in game. Local tradition holds that in his first year there he killed sixty deer and ten bears, numbers that say as much about how wild the country still was as about Harrod himself. Settlement caught up with him soon enough: by 1825 the township around him was formally organized and named for Henry Clay, and within a few years two small rival villages nearby, Hanover and Williamsburg, would merge into Martinsburg, the only incorporated place Clay Township has ever had.

A lost bell, an answered prayer

Steven Cook, an early Clay Township settler and longtime Presbyterian elder, kept his horses, cattle, and sheep running loose in the woods before he had cleared any pasture, with bells fastened around their necks so they could be tracked. When one bell went missing, and with no store nearer than Mount Vernon to buy a replacement, Cook grew anxious to find it and prayed earnestly as he walked through the wilderness to a neighbor's house. Mid-prayer, he suddenly caught his foot in the mouth of the very bell he had lost. Cook never doubted it was a direct answer, and the story was still being told of him when the county history was written decades later.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · knoxpages.com · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Gambier Village44% of residentsBuried Valley Aquifer (Kokosing River valley wells)
• Utica Village40% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Martinsburg Village15% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Public EV charging (1)

Shale and injection wells (2)

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-21

Cite this page