Clayton is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, and considered a satellite town of Raleigh. As of 2010, Clayton's population was 16,116 people. Much of that growth can be attributed to the town's close proximity to the Research Triangle area and access to major highways such as I-40, U.S. 70, and NC 42.In 2006, construction began on the Highway 70 Clayton Bypass, a 10.5mi stretch from Interstate 40 along the southern portion of Clayton to Highway 70 business in Smithfield. It was completed in June 2008.Town Hall is located at 111 East Second Street and it is shared with The Clayton Center Auditorium and Conference Center.HistoryThe community which has grown into the Town of Clayton was built on a road cut by Governor Tryon’s troops around 1770 as they marched North from New Bern to Hillsborough against the Regulators. Nearly 100 years later the railroad came through and the community had its first name—Stallings’ Station, since the depot for the North Carolina Railroad was in the home of Mrs. Sarah Stallings. The name lasted only three years, however before officially becoming Clayton. Incorporation followed in 1869.The new town was far from prosperous, and the Civil War made a depressed local economy even worse. Many long-time citizens moved away during that period.But, following the war, the railroad was extended and businesses began to pop up. Ashley Horne developed a successful farming and merchandising business to become one of the most successful merchants and manufacturers in all of North Carolina. Horne’s success inspired two other men, McCullers and Barbour, to open businesses that also did well, beginning an era of growth that lasted well into the next century. Some of the businesses that flourished during that time were lumber plants, a brick kiln, a cotton gin, a gristmill, a sawmill, tobacco warehouses, cotton mills and a turpentine distillery.