Purchase Print A misty Kentucky River sunrise at Clays Ferry. The ferry, starting in 1798 provided a crossing point on the Kentucky River between Madison and Fayette Counties, and the cities of Lexington and Richmond. Clays Ferry is named after one of its first owners, Green Clay, who was the father of the future politician, abolitionist, and ambassador to Russia, Cassius Marcellus Clay, who worked with Abraham Lincoln during his presidency. Cassius’ name is easily recognized by students of American history for the connection to Muhammad Ali’s father, and Ali himself.