Clayton’s post office opened in 1856, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #140 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Clayton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 271 buildings. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1880.
The Clayton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1869. Another post office, Powhatan (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 352 in 18802020 census: 26,307170 years
How historic is Clayton?
B−
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clayton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clayton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clayton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #140 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clayton’s overall grade.
North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clayton’s 96.5 sits above most of its state (75% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 283 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1869 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
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.
In 1701, English surveyor John Lawson, who was traveling down the Neuse River from Charleston, South Carolina, first visited the Clayton area, on his way to the Piedmont and eastern North Carolina. Four years later, the region was incorporated into Craven County, which then stretched west of New Bern to the Pacific Ocean. In the early eighteenth century, the area had been largely inhabited by the Tuscarora tribe, who in 1711 were defeated by European settlers and their Native American allies and forced to leave the area, then part of the Province of Carolina.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clayton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Clayton 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.
Every building
Clayton, building by building, 1909–1918
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.
The Clayton post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1869.
How does Clayton rank for history?
Clayton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #140 of 290 in North Carolina. 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?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Stallings-Carpenter House (listed 1983, the first), and 1 historic district, the Clayton Historic District, with 271 contributing buildings. 283 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Clayton?
2% of Clayton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
![The whistle blows. Clayton Mills, N.C. See following photos. Location: [Clayton], North Carolina](https://images.townratings.com/story/12394/e1ab123964271a3b9b07-s.jpg)
1912![The whistle blows. Clayton Mills, N.C. See following photos. Location: [Clayton], North Carolina](https://images.townratings.com/story/12394/56c10a972c042f91a847-s.jpg)
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
1912
2020
2014
2014
2014
