Clayton, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clayton is a city in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,019 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Rabun County^GR6.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 Sources
6 External links

[edit] History

The area that would eventually become Clayton was called the Dividings because it sat at the intersection of three important Cherokee trails. Explorer and naturalist William Bartram came through the Dividings in May, 1775 while exploring what would later become Rabun County. Much later, after Clayton had grown to include the Dividings, two of the old Cherokee trails became the main roads for Clayton and the county: U.S. 441 and U.S. 76.

Clayton was incorporated December 13, 1823 as Claytonville but the name was later shortened to Clayton. The city was named after a prominent jurist and congressman, Judge Augustin S. Clayton who served in both the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Senate before becoming as a representative of Georgia in the United States House of Representatives from 1831 – 1835. In 1824, 67 acres were purchased from Solomon Beck for $150 and a site for a courthouse and the surrounding streets was laid out.

In 1904, the Tallulah Falls Railway was completed to Clayton from Cornelia, Georgia and was later extended to Franklin, North Carolina by 1907. Clayton has had public water and sanitary sewer service since the 1920’s. Initially, the water supply was two springs on nearby Buzzard Roost Mountain, but today Calyton uses Lake Rabun as its water supply.

In 1936, Clayton recorded 30.0 inches of total snowfall making that year the snowiest year in the city.^[1] The recorded snowfall in Clayton in 1936 is also a state record.^[2]

[edit] Geography

Clayton is located at 34°52′40″N, 83°24′6″W (34.877788, -83.401691)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.0 km² (3.1 mi²), all land. Clayton's elevation is 1,925 feet.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,019 people, 816 households, and 497 families residing in the city. The population density was 252.3/km² (653.2/mi²). There were 1,006 housing units at an average density of 125.7/km² (325.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.55% White, 2.77% African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.34% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 9.41% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.71% of the population.

There were 816 households out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,600, and the median income for a family was $36,164. Males had a median income of $25,823 versus $18,304 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,977. About 7.9% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.