Clayton, New Mexico, Grain Mill and Elevator Postcard

"Clayton, New Mexico, Grain Mill and Elevator" by Catherine Sherman. An old grain elevator and mill next to the railroad tracks is a landmark in Clayton, New Mexico. Clayton is a town and county seat of Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,980. Clayton is a crossroads for tourists heading from Texas to Colorado, and from Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas to Taos, New Mexico. The Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail brought some of the first Americans through the Clayton region. The Santa Fe Trail was first established in 1821 after Spanish rule was evicted from Mexico which opened up trade between Santa Fe and the United States. Clayton, on the High Plains, is located in the northeast corner of New Mexico, 10 miles from the border of Texas and 11 miles from the border of the Oklahoma panhandle. Clayton has a rich history of commerce dating back to its founding in the 1800s. Because of the railroad and nearby ranches, Clayton became a major livestock shipping center.