Clayton is a small town of about 700 people according to the 2000 census, although I am anxiously awaiting the 2010 census as I am sure it has increased. Many of the homes in the town were built in late 1800's. What was life like for the originally founders? Being an import, I do not know. The town has not changed much judging by the number of original buildings still in existence.
Clayton is home to several businesses. There is a PNC bank in town, the "Clayton Foo Store," the letter D is missing from the sign, so the children call it the "Foo Store," a solid and busy red brick post office, Chippy's Ice Cream Parlor, the Clayton Cafe, the Mill Creek Outreach, Body Mechanix, a fire station, the excavator's, a car wash, the Korner liquor store which has an archery upstairs, around the corner is the tractor and feed store, an automotive repair shop, Davis Floral, the funeral home, the First Baptist Church, the Clayton Christian Church, a Presbyterian church and one set of apartments and most popular is Cox's Plant farm.
Surrounding the town of Clayton are family farms and orchards. If you were to take a drive out US40 to the small town of Clayton, you could purchase flowers at Cox's, drop by the Clayton Cafe for their evening specials of BBQ, or fried catfish, or stop at Chippy's Ice Cream for a waffle cone filled with your favorite flavor, sit out front on a picnic table and enjoy the day. Some visitors ride their bicycles from Plainfield, almost 9 miles away to visit the countryside. The locals ride bicycle to their friends houses, Lambert Park, the Clayton Public Library, or play to basketball at the school. Bike riding is a popular activity. Clayton has good roads for bicycling, or running as they are long country roads with not much in your path and beautiful scenery on all sides.
We still "drive to town" to pick up supplies, then return to our humble agricultural abodes and enjoy our families and gardens. It's the kind of location where you stock your freezer with meat, and have a pantry. Going to the church of your choice on Sunday morning is still the beginning of the week.
Many people in Clayton ride western style horses, own mixed breed dogs, they raise chickens for eggs, or are pet lovers of some sort. Ducks are another popular pet to keep. It is more common to have a stocked pond of fish, also appreciated by the ducks, than a swimming pool. We have an ordinance against pigs in our area. Having outdoor cats is actually a necessary form of pest control, unless you want field mice, especially after the monstrous combines eat up all the corn in the fields in October and the wild life scatters.
Each evening when my son and I walk down the barely blacktopped open country roads, we hear roosters in the distance, two little black Scottie dogs we call the Toto dogs chase us down, the wind whips across flat, open fields of corn, soybeans or empty fields. Anyone from Indiana will recognize the daylily, even if they do not know the official name, it's the orange flowers on the side of the road, we walk pass a huge clump of orange daylilies separating two neighboring houses. People sometimes drive down the middle of the country road, speeding and tossing out plastic cups, so it's not always safe to go for a walk.
When we walk in town, most homes are the A-frame, small white house surrounded with flowers. My favorite is a two story in the northeast corner, with the large yard and open front porch. Several of the houses on the north and south way out of town are two story square homes, but I particularly like the two story white house with pillars out front, the wide green expanse of grass, the porch swing with floral pillows and hanging baskets overflowing with trumpets of petunias.
Clayton is home to several businesses. There is a PNC bank in town, the "Clayton Foo Store," the letter D is missing from the sign, so the children call it the "Foo Store," a solid and busy red brick post office, Chippy's Ice Cream Parlor, the Clayton Cafe, the Mill Creek Outreach, Body Mechanix, a fire station, the excavator's, a car wash, the Korner liquor store which has an archery upstairs, around the corner is the tractor and feed store, an automotive repair shop, Davis Floral, the funeral home, the First Baptist Church, the Clayton Christian Church, a Presbyterian church and one set of apartments and most popular is Cox's Plant farm.
Surrounding the town of Clayton are family farms and orchards. If you were to take a drive out US40 to the small town of Clayton, you could purchase flowers at Cox's, drop by the Clayton Cafe for their evening specials of BBQ, or fried catfish, or stop at Chippy's Ice Cream for a waffle cone filled with your favorite flavor, sit out front on a picnic table and enjoy the day. Some visitors ride their bicycles from Plainfield, almost 9 miles away to visit the countryside. The locals ride bicycle to their friends houses, Lambert Park, the Clayton Public Library, or play to basketball at the school. Bike riding is a popular activity. Clayton has good roads for bicycling, or running as they are long country roads with not much in your path and beautiful scenery on all sides.
We still "drive to town" to pick up supplies, then return to our humble agricultural abodes and enjoy our families and gardens. It's the kind of location where you stock your freezer with meat, and have a pantry. Going to the church of your choice on Sunday morning is still the beginning of the week.
Many people in Clayton ride western style horses, own mixed breed dogs, they raise chickens for eggs, or are pet lovers of some sort. Ducks are another popular pet to keep. It is more common to have a stocked pond of fish, also appreciated by the ducks, than a swimming pool. We have an ordinance against pigs in our area. Having outdoor cats is actually a necessary form of pest control, unless you want field mice, especially after the monstrous combines eat up all the corn in the fields in October and the wild life scatters.
Each evening when my son and I walk down the barely blacktopped open country roads, we hear roosters in the distance, two little black Scottie dogs we call the Toto dogs chase us down, the wind whips across flat, open fields of corn, soybeans or empty fields. Anyone from Indiana will recognize the daylily, even if they do not know the official name, it's the orange flowers on the side of the road, we walk pass a huge clump of orange daylilies separating two neighboring houses. People sometimes drive down the middle of the country road, speeding and tossing out plastic cups, so it's not always safe to go for a walk.
When we walk in town, most homes are the A-frame, small white house surrounded with flowers. My favorite is a two story in the northeast corner, with the large yard and open front porch. Several of the houses on the north and south way out of town are two story square homes, but I particularly like the two story white house with pillars out front, the wide green expanse of grass, the porch swing with floral pillows and hanging baskets overflowing with trumpets of petunias.
