The story so far
from the U.S. CensusBetween the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 571 to 550 (-4%). Half of its homes were built before 1971.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clayton yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Be one of the first
Start Clayton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clayton’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Clayton, decade by decade
Before
2000
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Clayton is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Clayton has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Lindstrom, John, Round Barn in Balsam Lake, 13.5 miles away.
Clayton and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Clayton. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Lindstrom, John, Round Barn’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Clayton?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Clayton’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.