Editing Clayton, New Mexico (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{See also|History of New Mexico}}

Native Americans were present in the area of Clayton for at least 10,000 years, as evidenced by the findings at the [[Folsom site]] about 55 miles northwest of Clayton, near the village of [[Folsom, New Mexico|Folsom]]. Later the area was part of [[Comancheria]].<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012">Barras, Keith & Kendall Monroe "A Brief History of the Hotel Eklund, Clayton, N.M. and Union County" (printed booklet 2012)</ref>

The Cimarron Cutoff of the [[Santa Fe Trail]] brought some of the first settlers 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. William Becknell, also known as the Father of the Santa Fe Trail, became the first person to utilize the Santa Fe Trail as a trade route between the state of Missouri and Santa Fe. He established the Cimarron Cutoff, also known as the Cimarron Route, as a faster route between countries as the Cimarron Route shortened the Trail by more than 100 miles. The Cimarron Cutoff went straight through the Clayton region where travelers used the Rabbit Ear Mountain as a guiding landmark. Eventually travelers along the trail began to appreciate the rich soil around Clayton and the rolling green hills which were perfect for raising livestock.

The [[Goodnight-Loving Trail]] also passed through the area (bringing cattle north from Texas) starting in the late 1860s,<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012"/>  but eventually cattle ranchers and sheepherders established ranches in the Clayton area itself, though they were large and far apart. That changed when the [[Fort Worth and Denver Railway|Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad]] came to the area in 1888.<ref name="Myrick_1990">Myrick, David, ‘’New Mexico’s Railroads, A Historic Survey’’, University of New Mexico Press 1990. {{ISBN|0-8263-1185-7}}</ref> Stephen Dorsey, a nearby rancher, received the rights to the area where the railroad ran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newmexicohistory.org/places/cimarron-cutoff-of-the-santa-fe-trail|title=New Mexico Office of the State Historian {{!}} places|website=newmexicohistory.org|language=en|access-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref> His range manager, John C. Hill laid out a town site, and named it in 1887 for Clayton C. Dorsey (1871-1948), son of Senator [[Stephen W. Dorsey]] of [[Arkansas]], who had established the nearby Triangle Dot Ranch in Union and Colfax counties.<ref name="Pearce_1965">Pearce, T.M.,editor, ''New Mexico Place Names, A Geographical Dictionary'', University of New Mexico Press 1965. {{ISBN|0-8263-0082-0}}</ref>

In 1892, the saloon of what would later become the [[Eklund Hotel|Hotel Eklund]] was built, and by 1894 the saloon featured a front and back bar, pool and [[Carom billiards|carom tables]], monte game tables, a crap table, and a poker table. By 1898, the building was further expanded to add a hotel.<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012"/>

===Twentieth Century===
[[File:Clayton, New Mexico (1904).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Clayton (1904)]]

US President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] visited Clayton on April 14, 1905.<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012"/><ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-clayton-new-mexico "Remarks in Clayton, New Mexico by Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States: 1901-1909" ''The American Presidency Project'']</ref>

In 1928 the main street of Clayton was paved and street lighting was added.<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012"/>

Clayton and the rest of Northeastern New Mexico was hit hard by the [[Dust Bowl]] of the 1930s; however, the era was also a time of renewal and rebuilding in the community, in large part due to the work of the [[Works Project Administration]] in the community.<ref>[https://www.ket.org/program/the-dust-bowl/mr-huff/ "The Dust Bowl: Mr. Huff" ''KET.org'' (video)]</ref>

Clayton was hit by a "black roller" (giant dust cloud) that measured 1500 feet high and a mile across on May 28, 1937.<ref>[https://online.nmartmuseum.org/nmhistory/people-places-and-politics/the-great-depression/history-the-great-depression-and-world-war-ii.html "The Great Depression and World War II" ''New Mexico Art tell New Mexico History'' (website)]</ref>

In 1999, the dining room and saloon of the old Eklund Hotel was reopened.<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012"/>

===Twenty-first century===

The Eklund hotel reopened on July 3, 2011.<ref name="Barras, Keith 2012"/>