With the arrival of state and national highways and railroads, towns in Clay County like Piggott, Greenway, and Rector began to develop. So later in 1887, county seat of eastern part was shifted to Piggott from Boydsville. Even till today the system of dual county seat is maintained and important functions of county like ‘Quorum Court’ are held at both the places in alternate order.
The total area covered by Clay County is 641 square miles, i.e. 1661 square km. Out of 641 square miles, 639 square miles is covered by land and only 2 square miles by water. The major highways that run through the Clay County are; US 49, US 62, US 67, AR 90, AR 119 and AR 139. The neighboring counties of Clay County are; Greene county, Randolph county, Butler County, Ripley County and Dunklin County. The major cities and towns of Clay County are; Corning, Rector, Datto, Piggott, Success, Pollard, Scatterville, Nimmons, McDougal, Knobel, St. Francis, Greenway, Peach Orchard etc.
According to Census 2000, the population of this county was 17,609 and the population density was 28 heads per square mile. The major occupation of this county is agriculture, major crop being rice. Apart from rice, other crops like corn, milo, cotton, soybeans and hay are also cultivated here. Industrial area is mostly limited to the big cities like Piggott, Rector and Corning.
