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AHistory
History · Clayton

Clayton dates to 1877, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #16 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

10 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 1,283 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1890.

1877founded
10on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clayton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clayton began

When was Clayton founded?

1877

Clayton dates its founding to 1877 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 402 in 18902020 census: 17,355149 years

How historic is Clayton?

A

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1885.
History grade

What drives Clayton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clayton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #16 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clayton’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.1% of homes (±3.0) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register10 listings, 1,290 historic buildings, 742 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 94%

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clayton’s 742 sits above most of its state (99% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1,290 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1877.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Clayton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Hi-Pointe-De Mun Historic District takes in 552 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register10 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Clayton’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

10 listings protect 1,290 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1,290
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Martin Franklin Hanley House
Martin Franklin Hanley HouseCarrswold Historic DistrictHaarstick-Whittemore HousesShanley BuildingSeven Gables BuildingWydown-Forsyth DistrictHi-Pointe-De Mun Historic DistrictBrentmoor Park, Brentmoor and Forest Ridge DistrictMoorlands Addition Apartment DistrictClaverach Park
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Tudor Revival7
Colonial Revival5
Georgian Revival5
Spanish Colonial Revival3
International Style3
Italian Renaissance3
Martin Franklin Hanley HouseBuilding
Carrswold Historic DistrictTudor Revival
Haarstick-Whittemore HousesGeorgian Revival
Shanley BuildingInternational Style
Seven Gables BuildingTudor Revival
Wydown-Forsyth DistrictGeorgian Revival
Hi-Pointe-De Mun Historic DistrictCraftsman
All 10 listings
Brentmoor Park, Brentmoor and Forest Ridge DistrictDistrict · listed 1982Moorlands Addition Apartment DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Claverach ParkDistrict · listed 2015

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPlat book of St. Louis County, Missouri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Clayton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clayton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Clayton is a city in and the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, that borders the west side of the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, a citizen who donated the land for the St. Louis County courthouse.

Clayton was established in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 15,939 to 17,355 (+9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Clayton, 1877 to 1998

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingClayton is established
  3. 1885Post officeThe Clayton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909In the archivePlat book of St. Louis County, Missouri [Page 68] [Clayton, County seat of St. Louis Coun…
  6. 1913Post officeThe Clayton post office closes
  7. 1919Born hereSamuel Pearson Goddard Jr. is born here
  8. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1934Born hereJames Franciscus is born here
  10. 1989Born hereTessa Florio-Gavilsky is born here
  11. 1998Born hereCameron Gellman is born here
By decade

Clayton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Plat book of St. Louis County, Missouri [Page 68] [Clayton, County seat of St. Louis County, on surveys 1918 & 1919, & …1909Plat book of St. Louis County, Missouri [Page 68] [Cl…
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Martin F. Hanley House, 7600 Westmoreland DriveDate?Martin F. Hanley House, 7600 Westmoreland Drive
Today9 recent
Ladue Rd Eastbound at Highway 725 exits (1983)2026Ladue Rd Eastbound at Highway 725 exits (1983)Highway 725 East approaches Ladue Rd exit (1983)2026Highway 725 East approaches Ladue Rd exit (1983)MetroLink Blue Line in2024MetroLink Blue Line inDowntown Clayton and MetroLink 20242024Downtown Clayton and MetroLink 2024Clayton Buildings - Moorlands2022Clayton Buildings - MoorlandsForest Park Parkway and Downtown Clayton, looking eastward2016Forest Park Parkway and Downtown Clayton, looking eas…Clayton, Photo 32014Clayton, Photo 3Alamo at the intersection of Demun2013Alamo at the intersection of DemunKFUO transmitter2007KFUO transmitter
On the map

Clayton on the map, 1933 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clayton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Clayton on the 1933 USGS mapClayton on the 1941 USGS mapClayton on the 1954 USGS mapClayton on the 1968 USGS mapClayton on the 1974 USGS mapClayton on the 1993 USGS map1933Clayton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clayton.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Plat book of St. Louis County, Missouri [Page 68] [Clayton, County seat of St. Louis County, on surveys 1918 & 1919, & …
Retake this viewPlat book of St. Louis County, Missouri [Page 68] [Clayton, County seat of St. Louis County, on surveys 1918 & 1919, & …, 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clayton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Clayton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,000190019201940196019802000202017,355

Grew from 402 people in 1890 to 17,355 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clayton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Clayton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
James FranciscusAmerican actor · b. 1934
Samuel Pearson Goddard Jr.Governor of Arizona, 1965-1967 · b. 1919
C
Cameron GellmanAmerican actor · b. 1998
Tessa Florio-GavilskyAmerican soccer player · b. 1989
E
Ernest TrovaAmerican artist · b. 1927
Harvey JablonskyAmerican football player and US Army veteran · b. 1909
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Clayton had its own post office from 1885 to 1913.

Clayton
1885–1913
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

University City16 historic placesA−Richmond Heights4 historic placesA+St. Louis444 historic placesA+Ladue6 historic placesB

Questions about Clayton’s history

What year was Clayton founded?

In 1877, according to Wikidata. Clayton’s post office opened in 1885, and the census of 1890 counted 402 people here.

How does Clayton rank for history?

Clayton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #16 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Clayton?

10 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Martin Franklin Hanley House (listed 1971, the first), and 6 historic districts with 1,283 contributing buildings. 1,290 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Clayton?

35% of Clayton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1954.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.