Clayton is a town in and the county seat of Barbour County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,475 at the 2000 census.
History
Clayton has been the county seat since 1832.
The Grace Episcopal Church and a building formerly known as the Miller-Martin Townhouse are on the National Register of Historic Places. The latter building, built by John H. Miller in 1859, is privately owned. The unique architectural designed Octagon House, the only antebellum house of this architecture in the area, is open for public viewing my appointment. It is owned by the town and used for special functions. The famous Whiskey Bottle Tombstone, featured in Ripley's Believe It Or Not, is located in the Clayton cemetery.
Notable natives
- Tyrone 'Ty' Adams - New York playwright with numerous plays, produced in Broadway, off-Broadway, as well as regional theaters, to his credit, including Conecuh and Wallace: The Clayton Years which are set in his native home state. b. 1949
- George W. Andrews - Member, U.S. House of Representatives and member of its Committee on Appropriations. 1906-1971
- Billy Beasley - Member of the State of Alabama House of Representatives and President of the Alabama Pharmaceutical Association. b. 1940
- Jere Beasley - Two term Lieutenant Governor of Alabama and acting Governor of Alabama; preeminent national trial attorney. b. 1935
- Rebecca Parish Beasley, editor and publisher of family-owned newspaper The Clayton Record, served two terms on town council and two terms as mayor, began third term as mayor in November 2008; married to State Rep. Billy Beasley. b. 1949
- Cecil Boyd - Co-Founder of Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc., largest flatbed truckload carrier operating in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. b. 1926
- Dempsey Boyd - Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Boyd. Bros. Transportation Inc., largest flatbed truckload carrier operating in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. b. 1927
- James H. (Hilly) Boyd - Co-Founder of Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc., largest flatbed truckload carrier operating in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. b. 1929
- Jeanneta Britt - Author of the Lottie Trilogy and several volumes of poetry.
- Bertram Tracy Clayton - U.S. Congressman representing New York and U.S. Army officer killed in World War I. 1862-1918
- Henry Delamar Clayton,Jr. - Member of U.S. House of Representatives and author in 1914 of the Clayton Act regulating antitrust behavior. 1857-1929
- Henry De Lamar Clayton, Sr. - prominent judge and major general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War; President of the University of Alabama. 1827-1889
- Preston C. Clayton - Member of Alabama State Senate and Associate Justice of State of Alabama Supreme Court. d. 1996
- Gibbs Couch - Well known story-teller in East Alabama. b. 1939
- John E. Daniel - Chief of Staff of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan. b. 1943
- William Lee Gammell, Pearle E. Gammell, and Bertie Gammell Parish - Father, mother and daughter, respectively, editors and publishers of The Clayton Record (published since 1915); each the recipient in the years 1962, 1977 and 2004, respectively, of the Alabama Press Association's Hall of Honor, its highest honor for former Alabama Newspaper Executives who have brought honor to the newspaper industry in the state.
- Travis Grant - Nicknamed Machine Gun and The Machine, he set national collegiate basketball scoring records and led Kentucky State University to three consecutive national championships; was a first round draft pick (13th overall) by the NBA Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. b. 1950
- Draffus Lamar Hightower - Renowned photographer, widely compared to Walker Evans. Many of his works are published in To Remember a Vanishing World: D.L. Hightower's Photography of Barbour County, Alabama, 1930 - 1965. (2000) 1899-1993
- Clarence Clemet Hodge - Nicknamed Shovel - Right handed starting pitcher for Chicago White Sox in the American League of Major League Baseball from 1920-1922. 1893-1967
- John E. Horne - Appointed Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration by President John F. Kennedy. 1908-1985
- Frank Jackson, M.D. - Founder and visionary of Jackson Hospital, Montgomery, Alabama, central Alabama's largest health care facility. 1912-2008
- Emma Rylanders Lane - Originated the recipe for Lane Cake, a holiday cake, in her cookbook Some Good Things To Eat (1898). Her cookbook named the recipe Prize Cake since it won first prize in the State Fair. Secret: The joy is in the filling! d. 1904
- Ann Lowe - Designer of wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis for her marriage to John F. Kennedy. 1899-1981
- James Sammons - Medical Doctor; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association and later its Executive Vice President. 1927-2001
- George Wallace - Four term Governor of Alabama and four time candidate for U.S. President. 1919-1998
- George C. Wallace, Jr. - Two term State of Alabama Treasurer, two term Member of the Alabama Public Service Commission, and Republican Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama. b. 1951
- Lurleen Wallace - Only woman elected Governor of Alabama. 1926-1968
- Lee Ella "Lella" Warren - Author of Foundation Stone (1940), widely and favorably compared to Gone with the Wind. 1899-1982
- James J. Winn - Colonel in U.S. Army; Chief military aide to Gen. George C. Marshall during World War II. b. 1907-year of death not known
Geography
Clayton is located at 31°52'39.014" North, 85°26'56.486" West (31.877504, -85.449024).[1]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14.1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 1,475 people, 593 households, and 393 families residing in the town. The population density was 270.5 people per square mile (104.5/km²). There were 704 housing units at an average density of 129.1/sq mi (49.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 63.93% Black or African American, 34.85% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.41% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 593 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were married couples living together, 27.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $18,750, and the median income for a family was $25,750. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $20,417 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,791. About 29.3% of families and 31.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.5% of those under age 18 and 29.8% of those age 65 or over.
References
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