Clay Center was first settled in 1862. It was named from its position near the geographical center of Clay County. The first post office was established in Clay Center on July 3, 1862. Clay Center was located on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads.
Becoming the President: In 1896, William McKinley was nominated to run for president for the Republican Party with Garret Hobart as his running mate. He was opposed by William Jennings Bryan who during his acceptance to the nomination gave his famous Cross of Gold speech where he spoke against the gold standard.
During the Civil War, McKinley served on the staff of Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, a fellow Ohioan who would become his lifelong mentor and friend. His ties to Hayes helped McKinley rise through Ohio's political ranks and win election to Congress in 1876, the same year Hayes was elected as the nation's 19th president. McKinley entered Ohio politics in 1869 and rose through the ranks as a Republican, winning election to the U.S. Congress in 1876.