CLAYTON COLLEGE RECORDS

The papers range from George Clayton’s personal and business life through building, creation and management of the College in the early twentieth century, management of Clayton College, until the city ceded control in 1982. Student records are found through 1988. Deeds and real estate documents describe Clayton's involvement in early Denver. Mortgage papers from the early twentieth century reveal the funding process to build the College. Construction and management are documented in reports, correspondence and financial records. Student records (restricted from 1940; boxes 31-50) provide background about the boys who were enrolled.

Clayton's diaries comprise the first collection sub-series. He wrote almost daily, recording the weather, travels and activities. Significantly, the 1857 to 1871 diaries which would have depicted life in early Denver are missing. Diaries describe Clayton's life in Philadelphia and in Leavenworth, before travel farther west. Correspondence, legal and financial papers and newspaper clippings constitute the papers of Clayton's family and friends. The financial documents reveal ways in which Clayton made money including loans, property transactions and investments. Arranged chronologically, deeds, correspondence, agreements and banking documents describe property transactions and loans. The series also contains several copies of Clayton's will, basis for the creation and operation of Clayton College.

The series documents property transactions before Clayton's death including papers from properties co-owned with Judge Moses Hallett, who later acted as the executor of Clayton's will. Tax receipts, bank statements and court documents describe Hallett's accounting of the estate and his efforts to distribute assets according to the will's terms. Before construction of the college buildings, Hallett engaged realtors and listed Clayton properties for sale. The transactions are recorded by correspondence, deeds and tax receipts. The documents reveal much of the property was vacant land, subsequently subdivided and developed, and sold for houses with mortgage agreements.

With the college open, Hallett was succeeded by his son and then by administrators appointed by city and county officials. The emphasis of the commission shifted to estate management to best provide support for the college without dissipating the principal. Correspondence, banking records, deeds and other financial papers show the process through which the Clayton Trust Commission managed its funds.

In the 1960s, the nature of the papers changes. Clayton Trust Commission meetings took place monthly. Discussions of racial discrimination at the College and management of the Park Hill Golf Club are included in the Commission's meeting minutes and correspondence.

The Report of the Superintendent was presented to the Board of Trustees at its monthly meeting. It contains minutes, status reports of college operations including student activities, medical procedures and the farm until 1930 when the Park Hill Golf Course became a topic of discussion.

Financial records, reports, booklets and newspaper clippings comprise the portion of this series dealing with the operations of Clayton College. Several papers document discussions of racial discrimination and court actions to end it. The series includes forms used by the College. Invoices and receipts from 1937 and 1938 provide a sample of expenses incurred.

Student records include family information and detailed scholastic and behavioral information about each individual boy. Applications, report cards and correspondence constitute the papers. These records are restricted for boys discharged after 1940.

As Clayton was a privately-funded institution prior to the 1960s, records open after the policy of the U.S. Census, 72 years after discharge. After the 1960s, Clayton College received some public funding including federal funding. Consequently, papers are restricted for 80 years after discharge. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA or the Buckley Amendment), affords access only to a student and his/her school record. Exceptions include: (1.) if the student has died and proof of his death is provided; (2.) written permission by the student. In the absence of proof of death, student records become public 80 years after the discharge of a student. Accessibility of restricted student records effectively is on a case-by-case basis (boxes 31-50).

This series contains cutlery from Clayton College, print blocks depicting Clayton and various Clayton College scenes, samples of lunch checks used instead of money by students and a brass eagle, possibly used for a standard for a flag pole.

Oversize boxes, folios and volumes contain financial records of George Washington Clayton, his estate and Clayton College. Maps depict the Union Pacific right of way in Denver before the railroad was built, Salt Lake City development and the Panama Ditch and Reservoir in Boulder County, Colorado.