From its earliest settlement in the Vermillion River Valley, Vermillion and Clay County has long been a coveted region in the Dakota Territory. Once inhabited by Omaha and Ponca tribes, the area was later home to the Dakota Indians. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent the Lewis and Clark expedition to the area to survey the territory. In August of 1804, Lewis and Clark stood atop Spirit Mound and surveyed the beautiful landscape we know now as Clay County.

Throughout the years, Native Americans, pioneers, frontiersman, farmers, and merchants have made Clay County home. Historic Vermillion and Clay County captures the history, development, and changing landscape of the area in almost 200 vintage images.