Clay Township is one of the twelve townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Ottawa County

Ottawa County, Ohio

Ottawa County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,428. Its county seat is Port Clinton and is named either for the Ottawa Indians who lived there, or for an Indian word meaning "trader"....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 5,118 people in the township, 2,888 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Allen Township
  Allen Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Allen Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,591 people in the township, 3,297 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Benton Township
  Benton Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Benton Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,621 people in the township, 2,232 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast
• Harris Township
  Harris Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Harris Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,009 people in the township, 1,583 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southeast
• Woodville Township, Sandusky County
  Woodville Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Woodville Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 3,304 people lived in the township, 1,327 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Lake Township, Wood County
  Lake Township, Wood County, Ohio
  Lake Township is one of the nineteen townships of Wood County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 10,350 people in the township, 6,643 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest
• Troy Township, Wood County
  Troy Township, Wood County, Ohio
  Troy Township is one of the nineteen townships of Wood County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,355 people in the township, 3,357 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - west

The village of Genoa

Genoa, Ohio

Genoa is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,230 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Genoa is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....

 is located in the center of the township, and the unincorporated communities

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 of Forest Park

Forest Park, Ottawa County, Ohio

Forest Park is an unincorporated community in northwestern Clay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. It lies at the intersection of Hellwig and Reiman Roads with State Route 51, Gray and Kennard Roads, less than 2 miles northwest of Genoa and a similar distance southwest of Clay Center...

 and Martin

Martin, Ohio

Martin is an unincorporated community in northeastern Clay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 43445....

lie in the township's northwest and northeast respectively.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.