Clark County, Nevada, shares a name with about a dozen other counties across the U.S.
Las Vegas Valley residents might’ve done a double take when they heard national news coverage that ballots had intentionally been set ablaze in Clark County in the days leading up to Election Day.
That county, to a slight relief of Nevada election officials, is located in Washington state.
And those are only two of a dozen “Clark” counties in the United States, most of which are named after brothers George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War general, and/or William Clark from the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
No so for Nevada’s Clark County.
Our county is named in honor of Sen. William Andrew Clark. He is credited with establishing a railroad that connected Los Angeles with Salt Lake City, according to the county’s biography.
Clark County, Nevada, is not only the most populous among the dozen Clark counties — by far — but it is also is the nation’s 11th most populous county.
Here’s a brief rundown of the dozen counties that at least share a name and how they rank by population, according to 2023 U.S. Census figures.
1. Nevada
Population: 2,336,573
Founded: 1905
Namesake: The railroad Sen. William Andrew Clark created made stops in Southern Nevada. He bought land and partitioned it and sold parcels in auction, which led to the creation of downtown Las Vegas.
2. Washington
Population: 521,150
Founded: 1845
Namesake: First known as Vancouver District, the county was named after William Clark, who traveled through there in the early 1800s as part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
3. Ohio
Population: 134,610
Founded: 1818
Namesake: Ohio’s Clark County was created through the state government in honor of George Rogers Clark.
4. Indiana
Population: 125,467
Founded: 1801
Namesake: The county was named after the Clark brothers who lived there. It’s also where the Lewis and Clark Expedition began.
5. Kentucky
Population: 37,304
Founded: 1793
Namesake: The county — initially known as Bourbon County — was named after George Rogers Clark.
6. Wisconsin
Population: 34,774
Founded: 1854
Namesake: There are conflicting reports about the namesake of Wisconsin’s Clark County.
An online source states that it might’ve been named after the Clark brothers, while another states that it might’ve been named after a prominent state legislator, Satterlee Clark.
7. Arkansas
Population: 21,274
Founded: 1818
Namesake: The Arkansas county is named after William Clark, the explorer.
8. Illinois
Population: 15,088
Founded: 1819
Namesake: Clark County, Illinois, is named after George Rogers Clark.
9. Missouri
Population: 6,641
Founded: 1836
Namesake: The county was named after William Clark.
10. South Dakota
Population: 3,948
Founded: 1873
Namesake: The county’s namesake is a “territorial legislator” known as Newton Clark, according to Greg Furness who wrote a book about the county.
11. Kansas
Population: 1,847
Founded: 1885
Namesake: The county was named after Capt. Charles F. Clarke, a military veteran from the 6th Kansas Cavalry, according to Fort Hays State University.
12. Idaho
Population: 801
Founded: 1919
Namesake: Clark County, Idaho, was named after Sam K. Clark, an early settler who also the county’s first state senator.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
