Clayton, North Carolina history

The layout of the mill, including its associated village, was based off Daniel Tompkins’s 1899 textbook Cotton Mill, Commercial Features: A Text-book for the Use of Textile Schools and Investors.

Ashley Horne was one such individual, and in 1900, he established the Clayton Cotton Mill in the town of Clayton, North Carolina.

The opening of the mill is described in a local newspaper from 1901:

By 1909, the Clayton Volunteer Fire Department included 25 members.

The property and the buildings that comprise The Clayton Center have been the cornerstone of community life in Clayton since 1915.

At the Clayton Cotton Mill, children younger than 14 were no longer listed as employed by the mill beginning with the 1920 census.

Anonymous. “Rockfish Mills to Take Over Plans at Clayton.” The Smithfield Herald, September 2, 1927.

The Clayton Cotton Mill was purchased in 1935 at auction by R.B. Whitley, a business associate of Ashley Horne, and renamed The Whitely Cotton Mills.

At the Clayton Cotton Mill, children younger than 14 were no longer listed as employed by the mill beginning with the 1920 census. It is likely that young children continued working at the Clayton Cotton Mill until 1938, when a federal law regulating child labor was implemented.

Whitley sold the mill in 1946 to LaFar Industries Group of Gastonia, who renamed the mill to the Clayton Spinning Company.

“Circa 1956 photograph of the Mill Baseball team.” Photograph ca.

Jones, Treva. “Death of a Payroll Mill Shutdown Leaves Financial Gap in Clayton.” The Raleigh Times, September 21, 1976.

The Center has its roots in the former Clayton School, which was full of life and activity for nearly 75 years before the Johnston County Board of Education closed the facility in 1997.

The Town grew and the Clayton Fire Department opened a second firehouse in 2000.

Opening night was New Year’s Eve 2002.

In 2005, Station 1 was replaced with the location at W Horne Street and became the building you see today.