The Clay County Courthouse was built in 1918, replacing a brick structure that was built in 1881. The courthouse stands in the center square of downtown Clay Center surrounded by 30 retail businesses and services. Inside you can see the old vault door decortated with an artistic design, a common tradition of the time.

Not everyone was happy when the very center of Clay County was surveyed and staked out as a town site in the winter of 1878. There had been a great deal of controversy over the location of the county seat. While Harvard and Sutton, both in the northern part of the county, argued the matter, the citizens in the remainder of the county took steps to provide what they felt was "the perfect location." In an election held in 1879, the voters favored the proposition that the seat of government be moved to the middle of the 16-township county and be given the name "Clay Center." The election was, of course, contested. But as soon as a one-story, frame building was completed, the county records were whisked out of the building in Sutton in the dead-of-night, and brought to the official county seat by horse and wagon. Thus ended another colorful Nebraska county seat saga.