The story
Read it all →How Clayton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Clayton.
Clayton is named for Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. It was established in 1834.
ChaptersRegistered Historic Places
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Clayton
Clayton dates to 1834, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
1834founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Clayton began
When was Clayton founded?
1834
Clayton dates its founding to 1834 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 941 in 18802020 census: 639192 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
What stands out about Clayton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Clayton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clayton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Every building
Clayton, building by building, 1885–1910
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Clayton, 1834 to 1946
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1834FoundingClayton is established
- 1837Post officeThe Clayton post office opens
- 1876Born hereLewis Omer is born here
- 1887
Born hereJ. Leroy Adair is born here - 20th century
- 1922
Born hereJohn Anderson is born here - 1946
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
From the old history books
What they wrote about Clayton in 1879
Passages that mention Clayton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Adams County, Illinois1879 · page 320Read the page →
Read the text
Cliii/ton. — The town of Clayton to become one precinct, and the postofflcc, in the village of Clayton, to be the place of votins;. CiDiror'il. — The town of Concord to" constitute one precinct, and the house of Elish Turner to be tlie place of voting.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Adams County, Illinois1879Read the page →
Read the text
The first white settlement of this township was in 1S29, made about two and a-half miles north of where the village of Clayton is now located by Obediah Nicks, wlio settled with his family on the northwest corner of section 23. David M. Campbell, the second settler, came April 1830, and located on the southeast of section 21. He is the oldest living settler, and his son James still lives on this section. In the fall of 1830 Rev. John E.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Clayton, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2025On the map
Clayton on the map, 1946 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clayton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946Augusta sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clayton.
People over time
Clayton, census by census
Between 639 and 1,038 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clayton’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Clayton
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Clayton’s history
What year was Clayton founded?
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Clayton’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 941 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.