This writer was in Torrington, Connecticut recently, and perhaps “divine intervention” led him to a yard sale which offered a number of very old photographs of a family that lived in the Clayton Massachusetts section of New Marlborough.
Among the rare images was the 1905 photograph shown above of a school house built circa 1870 in what was then called East Sheffield. The following year, a local state legislator wanted to establish a railroad line from Canaan, Connecticut to the mills in the Mill River section of New Marlborough. Apparently, the rail line could more easily be established if it all went through the same town, so East Sheffield was annexed to New Marlborough and became the village of Clayton. The rail line was never built.
Clayton was so-named because of its fine clay mines along the Konkapot River, and terracotta factories which manufactured tiles, bricks, and architectural adornments. The village also had two tiny hamlets named Sodom and Gomorrah, but that is a fascinating story for a future article.
The school house continued to be owned by the town of Sheffield, but by the 1930s, Clayton students were bussed to a new school in Mill River. Apparently, a few students also crossed the town line to attend the Ashley Falls School.
The old school house is now privately owned and is currently being renovated.
Editor’s note: The ending for this article has been revised.
