Near Hanover in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Henry Clay's Birthplace

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, September 10, 2024

1. Henry Clay's Birthplace Marker

Inscription. Henry Clay was born on 12 Apr. 1777 about two miles northwest of here. His family's house, built in the mid-18th century, burned in 1870. Clay studied law in Richmond and moved to Kentucky in 1797. During half a century in public life, he served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State. He championed the American System, a plan for national economic development, and negotiated the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 in an attempt to defuse conflict between North and South. Clay, a three-time candidate for the presidency of the United States and a leader of the Whig Party, died in 1852 and is buried in Lexington, Kentucky.

Erected 2016 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number ND-6.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Government & Politics. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is April 12, 1777.

Location. 37° 42.496′ N, 77° 23.016′ W. Marker is near Hanover, Virginia, in Hanover County. It is at the intersection of Hanover Courthouse Road (U.S. 301) and Stumpy Road on Hanover Courthouse Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hanover VA 23069, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Central Virginia,

and in the Richmond Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hanover Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Janie Porter Barrett (approx. 1½ miles away); Slash Church (approx. 1.7 miles away); The "Dissenters' Glebe" Of The Rev. Samuel Davies (approx. 2.3 miles away); Cornwallis’s Route (approx. 3 miles away); John Henry Smyth (approx. 3 miles away); The Colonial River Road (approx. 3.3 miles away); Rutland (approx. 3.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hanover.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Clay's Birthplace (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. Marker replaces an earlier version.

Also see . . . Henry Clay. (Submitted on October 31, 2024, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, September 10, 2024

2. Henry Clay's Birthplace Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2024, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 571 times since then and 85 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 31, 2024, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.