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Clayton, Georgia

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Clayton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 30525. It stands on Saddle Gap Branch. The Survey maps it on the Dillard quadrangle. 2,003 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,929 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Clayton within Rabun County

On record in Clayton

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Clayton grew from 70 to 2,003 between 1870 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
187070
20102,047
20202,003-44 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

154 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 154 fires within 5 miles of Clayton between 1992 and 2019, burning about 1,326 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 22 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning88
Arson/incendiarism22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined17
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Other causes5
Recreation and ceremony4
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Natural4
Smoking3
Fireworks1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
5 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestSAWMILL
17 September 2000Other causes1.0 acresChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestMOUNTAIN GROVE
15 September 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestRHONDA
2 August 2012Naturalunder an acreChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestSAGA MTN
11 August 2008Other causesunder an acreChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestLEAD TREE FIRE
1 August 2012Naturalunder an acreGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2013-RABUN-001
17 July 2009Naturalunder an acreChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestSTUMP
27 June 2008Naturalunder an acreChattahoochee-Oconee National ForestDIVIDE GAP FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rabun County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Clayton: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bowers PlacerGoldPast ProducerStream Placer
J.G. WelbornGoldPast ProducerStream Placer
Screamer Mt.GoldPast ProducerStream Placer

Every working recorded in Rabun County

Storms near this place

60 of 67 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Clayton in 67 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 31 hail, 30 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 1 dust devil. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2004Thunderstorm WindClayton1 hurt, $2,000A couple of trees were blown down. One tree fell on a van, causing minor injuries to the driver.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindClayton$20,000County comms reported multiple trees blown down in and around Clayton, including on Stornoway Dr, Warwoman Rd, and Earls Ford Rd. A tree fell on a home on Stornoway Dr.
January 2026Flash FloodClayton$1,000Emergency manager reported flash flooding developed across portions of central and southern Rabun County after 4 to 5.5 inches of rain fell across the area in around 24 hours, with around half of that falling in around six hours during the morning of the 10th. Impacts began with an embankment failure along Highway 76 just west of Clayton, where a lane of the highway was covered and a vehicle briefly trapped. Stekoa Creek overflowed its banks just south of Clayton, with water inundating Rickman Airfield Rd. Chechero Creek also overflowed onto Country Club Dr near Highway 76. Additionally, minor flooding was reported in spots along Tiger Creek from the headwaters to its confluence with the Tallulah River. Portions of Old Highway 441 were inundated, including at Shady Lane.
June 2025HailClayton-Public reported 3/4 inch hail.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindClayton-County comms reported trees blown down in Clayton and vicinity and a tree down at Warwoman Rd and Earls Ford Rd. Several power lines reported down in the area as well.
April 2020HailClayton-Multiple public reports of quarter size hail in the Clayton area.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindClayton-County comms reported multiple trees blown down from the Clayton area north toward the North Carolina border.
May 2014HailClayton-Public reported quarter size hail on Screamer Mountain just east of Clayton.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindClayton-County comms reported multiple trees and power lines blown down in and around Clayton, including on Main St and Savannah St. One tree fell on a vehicle.
May 2013HailClayton-Quarter size hail was reported on Camp Dixie Lane.
May 2013HailClayton-Nickel size hail was reported in Clayton.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindClayton-A tree was blown down on Marsengill St a little south of Clayton and large tree limbs were blown down in the Tiger area.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindClayton-Several trees were blown down about 6 miles southeast of Clayton.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindClayton-A tree was blown down near Heaven's Landing Airpark. Also, the top of a tree was blown out and large limbs blown down on Germany Rd.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindClayton-Large tree limbs were blown down along Blackrock Mountain Parkway.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindClayton-At least two trees were blown down in the Clayton area.
August 2007HailClayton-Ping-pong ball size hail reported on Seed Lake Rd.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindClayton-Several small trees were blown down near the south end of Lake Burton.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindClayton-Numerous trees blown down in and around Clayton, with some trees damaging homes.
April 2006HailClayton-Hail fell at Lake Burton.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindClayton-A few trees down.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindClayton-Several trees down around Lake Rabun.
April 2005Thunderstorm WindClayton-A couple of trees down at the highway 76/441 S intersection west of Clayton.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindClayton-Trees down and large hail of unspecified size.
July 2005Flash FloodClayton-A road near Cat Gap in the Persimmon Community was flooded and caved in.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindClayton-A tree down on Warwoman Rd and another tree down on highway 76 east of Clayton.
August 2005HailClayton-Golfball hail reported on the northeast side of Lake Burton. Also, a tree was blown down on highway 76 near Persimmon.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindClayton-Numerous trees were snapped.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindClayton-Trees were blown across power lines, causing sporadic outages.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindClayton-Trees and power lines were blown down.
August 2004Thunderstorm WindClayton-Trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2003Flash FloodClayton-A slow-moving thunderstorm produced very heavy rainfall, which cuased a section of highway 76 to flood in the Persimmon Community.
April 2003HailClayton-Hail was reported at Lake Burton.
September 2003Flash FloodClayton-Heavy rainfall caused Stecoah Creek to rise rapidly to flood south of Clayton. Another small creek flooded in Clayton, and a small pond overflowed.
September 2002Thunderstorm WindClayton-Some trees were blown down near Highway 197.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindClayton-Several trees were blown down at Lake Rabun.
November 2002Thunderstorm WindClayton-A few trees and a power pole were blown down.
June 2001HailClayton-Golfball-sized hail damaged cars in the parking lot of the emergency operations center.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindClayton-An early morning severe thunderstorm blew down trees on US Hwys 441 and 76.
April 2012HailClayton-no account filed
April 2012HailClayton-no account filed
June 2011HailClayton-no account filed
September 2009HailClayton-no account filed
March 2008Thunderstorm WindClayton-no account filed
July 2008HailClayton-no account filed
June 2007HailClayton-no account filed
June 2007HailClayton-no account filed
April 2007Dust DevilClayton-no account filed
April 2006HailClayton-no account filed
May 2006HailClayton-no account filed
May 2006HailClayton-no account filed
March 2005HailClayton-no account filed
August 2005HailClayton-no account filed
April 2002HailClayton-no account filed
April 2002HailClayton-no account filed
July 2002HailClayton-no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindClayton-no account filed
May 1999HailClayton-no account filed
May 1998HailClayton-no account filed
January 1998Flash FloodClayton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Rabun County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Laurel Falls1.3 miles19
Tiger2.7 miles19
Mountain City2.9 miles24
Germany3.7 miles24
York4.0 miles24
Dickerson Mill4.7 miles24
Burton Junction (historical)5.3 miles19
Antioch5.5 miles24

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ClaytonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2600941The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 355183. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.