Founding year: the first Clayton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clayton’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clayton’s 223 sits above most of its state (84% of New York towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clayton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Clayton sheet · 1:62,500
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, 1884–1912
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 town was formed from parts of the towns of Orleans and Lyme in 1833. The town was named after statesman John M. Clayton. The village of Clayton became the main railroad terminus for the Thousand Islands resort region, during its heyday at the turn of the twentieth century. The town of Clayton offered several hotels to visitors, some grand, now mostly vanished.
In 1872, the community of Clayton voted to set itself apart from the town by incorporating as a village.
Fairview Manor, Swarthout Site-A04507.000038, and Grindstone Island Upper Schoolhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Clayton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jefferson County, New York1878 · page 343Read the page →
Read the text
A RETROSPECTION of three-quartcrs of a century carries us back to the earliest settlement of what now constitutes the town of Clayton. We are informed, on reliable authority,* that the first permanent settlement was perfected in Clayton, in *801 or 1802, by one Bartlett, at a place that still bears the name of Bartlett's Point, and situate about one mile from Clayton village. He had been placed there by Smith & Delamater, land agents of Chaumont, to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clayton County, Iowa1916 · page 84Read the page →
Read the text
Clayton — The town of Clayton is the youngest of all the rising towns of Clayton county. It was surveyed in the fall of 1849 — the present site of the town being a dense forest of timber previous to that time. The place is situated on section i, township 93 north, range 3 west ; it is six miles from Garnavillo and fifteen miles from Elkader.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clayton County, Iowa1916 · page 397Read the page →
Read the text
He took an active part in the organization of Clayton County, and held the first justice court within its limits. He was the first clerk of the Board of Clayton County Commissioners, was elected the first School Fund Commissioner, and served one term as a Judge of Probate. In 1850 he took the United States census of the counties of Clayton, Fayette, Winneshiek and Allamakee.
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.
Timeline
Clayton, 1848 to 1982
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
The Clayton post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clayton rank for history?
Clayton is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Clayton?
50% of Clayton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1940.
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 (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
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