| Clayton, New York | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | New York#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Clayton |
| Coordinates: | 44.1753°N -76.0711°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Jefferson |
| Leader Title: | Town Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | David M. Storandt, Jr. (R) |
| Leader Title1: | Town Council |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 269.99 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 104.25 |
| Area Land Km2: | 213.78 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 82.54 |
| Area Water Km2: | 56.21 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 21.70 |
| Population As Of: | 2010 |
| Population Total: | 5153 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Est: | 4928 |
| Population Density Km2: | 23.05 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 59.70 |
| Timezone1: | EST |
| Utc Offset1: | -5 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -4 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 13624 |
| Area Code: | 315 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-045-16100 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Wikimedia Commons |
Clayton is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 5,153 at the 2010 census.[2] The town is named after John M. Clayton, a federal political leader from Delaware.
The town contains a village also named Clayton. Both are northwest of Watertown.
The village of Clayton, nearby Cape Vincent, and Alexandria Bay are popular tourist destinations on the New York mainland side of the Thousand Islands region.
The area was first settled around 1801.
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.[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 269.4sqkm, of which 213.3sqkm are land and 56.1sqkm, or 20.83%, are water. The town is situated on the St. Lawrence River near Lake Ontario. Across the river lies Ontario, Canada.
The northern border of the town is the Canada–US border running through the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River. The town includes the fourth largest of the Thousand Islands, Grindstone Island, along with smaller islands, such as Bluff Island, Grenell Island, Maple Island, Picton Island, and Round Island.
A ferry once connected Clayton with Gananoque in Ontario, but was discontinued due to the construction of the Thousand Islands Bridge 10miles northeast (down-river). This bridge now carries traffic from Interstate 81 into Canada.
New York State Route 12E, which follows the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, intersects north-south New York State Route 12 at Clayton village. New York State Route 180 crosses the southeastern corner of Clayton.
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 4,817 people, 1,914 households, and 1,335 families residing in the town. The population density was 58.3sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 3,337 housing units at an average density of 40.4sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 97.24% White, 0.93% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population.There were 1,914 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,805, and the median income for a family was $39,727. Males had a median income of $31,402 versus $21,091 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,947. About 4.8% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.