Fort Gaines, established in 1814, is the county seat for Clay County. The city grew up around a fort on the Chattahoochee River established to protect settlers during the Creek Indian Wars.

Fort Gaines is named for the fort’s builder, General Edmund Pendleton Gaines. The city became a shipping point for cotton planters for many miles on both sides of the Chattahoochee River, remaining a key market until about 1858 when railroads replaced river freight.