Clayton Township (formerly Providence Township) is a township in Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 178 at the 2000 census. All areas and population centers in the township are unincorporated areas. It was organized in June 1873 and was named for William Z. Clayton, who owned a large tract of land there at the time.
History
A native of Maine, William Z. Clayton lived in Winona, Minnesota and summered in Clayton Township. When Mower County was organized, Clayton was one of the townships which did not have enough settlers to be organized and thus much of the township was sold to speculators. By 1870, much of the land had been bought from the speculators, but crop failures in those early years resulted in many foreclosures and much of the land returned again to speculators. Clayton and Bennington are still the least populated townships of the county with 178 people each.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
At the 2010 census,