Clay County is named for Henry Clay, who was an American statesman, U.S. Senator and Congressman from Kentucky 1806 – 1852, U.S. Secretary of State 1825-1829, three times Speaker of the House and three times candidate for president.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Norman County
E – Becker County and Otter Tail County
S – Wilkin County
W – Cass County, North Dakota
Created: March 18, 1862 
County Seat:
Moorhead 1862 – present
County Courthouse – Moorhead
Location: 807 North 11th Street / North 9th Avenue
Built: 1953 – 1954
Style: Modern
Architect: M O Foss and Associates of Fargo, North Dakota
Contractor: Meinecke-Johnson Construction Company
Description: The building faces east and is a three story glass and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds on the north side of the center of Moorhead. The building is constructed of exterior light colored stone walls which contrast with the horizontal bands formed by the windows and brick spandrels. At the center east front, a two-story smooth, stone faced block projects over the first story. In the interior, the County District Court courtrooms are located on the west side of the first story. The building houses the County District Court of the 7th Judicial District.
See: The architect Foss Associates Architects also designed courthouses in Becker County, Clearwater County and Pennington County and in North Dakota in Billings County, Cavalier County, Morton County and Ramsey County.
See: The 7th Judicial District includes Becker County, Benton County, Douglas County, Mille Lacs County, Morrison County, Otter Tail County, Stearns County, Todd County and Wadena County.
History: The county was created in 1862 and Moorhead was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a one story brick structure built in 1879 by Lamb Brothers at Eight Street and First Avenue North at a cost of $2,136. The second courthouse was designed by Keese and Fisk and constructed by John Seegar of Moorhead and Pauly Brothers at a cost of $60,625 in 1883. An addition was constructed in 1917 at a cost of $11,135. The building was demolished in 1954. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1953 to 1954 at a cost of $725,000.
County Courthouse – Moorhead
County District Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007, 2008, 2018 and 2023