Clayton, AL

Clayton is a Barbour County town in southeast Alabama and one of the county’s two courthouse locations. The 2020 census counted 2,265 residents. Barbour County High School and Barbour County Primary School are in town, and Clayton’s central position places it along roads between the Pea River and Eufaula on the Chattahoochee. The courthouse, schools, and surrounding fields give Clayton a civic role that reaches well beyond its population. County courts still meet there on regular schedules.

ATTRRivers Langley; SaveRivers / CC BY-SA 3.0

Clayton became Barbour County’s seat in 1833 because it sits near the county’s geographic center, and the first courthouse opened the next year. The Alabama legislature incorporated the town in 1841. A 1879 compromise established courts in both Clayton and Eufaula, a split arrangement that still shapes county government. Clayton’s local landmarks include Grace Episcopal Church, built in 1876, and the Miller-Martin Townhouse from 1859. The town’s working outline is courthouse square, school routes, historic homes, and roads through the Pea River country.