Green Clay, for whom the county was named in 1806, was born in Virginia in 1757 and came to Kentucky in 1777. He served in the Virginia Legislature in 1788-89 and in the Virginia Convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. From 1793 to 1808 he served in Kentucky's House, Senate, and constitutional convention. In May 1813, at Fort Meigs, Gen. Clay and 3000 Kentuckians held back British and Indian forces. He was a cousin of Henry Clay, and the county was formed from parts of Madison, Floyd, and Knox.