Clay County

Clay County is on U.S. highways 287 and 82 on the Red River in north Texas, ninety miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The center of the county is at approximately 34°48' north latitude, 98°15' west longitude, near the county seat, Henrietta. The ninety-eighth meridian, which unofficially divides the United States into east and west, runs through the eastern part of the county. The county measures forty-six miles from north to south and twenty-five miles from east to west. The total land area is about 1,150 square miles. The terrain is nearly level to gently sloping. About a third of the county is prime farmland. The flora of most of the county is typical of the Cross Timbers and prairie, with grasses predominating. The northwest corner is in the Rolling Plains vegetation area, with taller grasses, mesquite, and cacti common. Trees, including mesquite, blackjack, post oak, and elm, are scattered throughout the county, but are more numerous along the streams. The elevation varies from 1,100 feet in the southwest to 900 feet in the east. The average rainfall is thirty inches a year. The average annual temperature is 64° F. Temperatures in January range from an average low of 28° F to an average high of 53° and in July from 73° to 98°. The growing season averages 229 days a year, with the last freeze in late March and the first freeze in mid-November. Snowfall averages six inches a year.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.