Clay Township is one of the twenty-five 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 Muskingum County

Muskingum County, Ohio

Muskingum County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,074. Its county seat is Zanesville...

, 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 1,038 people in the township, 273 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

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

• Newton Township
  Newton Township, Muskingum County, Ohio
  Newton Township is one of the twenty-five townships of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,402 people in the township, 5,186 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Brush Creek Township
  Brush Creek Township, Muskingum County, Ohio
  Brush Creek Township is one of the twenty-five townships of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,375 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the southern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - east
• York Township, Morgan County
  York Township, Morgan County, Ohio
  York Township is one of the fourteen townships of Morgan County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 958 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Harrison Township, Perry County
  Harrison Township, Perry County, Ohio
  Harrison Township is one of the fourteen townships of Perry County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,399 people in the township, 1,745 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - west

Part of the village of Roseville

Roseville, Ohio

Roseville is a village in Muskingum and Perry counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, along Moxahala Creek. The population was 1,936 at the 2000 census. Roseville is served by a branch of the Muskingum County Library System.-History:...

is located in northwestern Clay Township.

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.