Clayton, W. L. and Susan
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Mississippi native William Lockhart Clayton (1880-1966) left school early to become a court reporter. His skill attracted an executive of the American Cotton Company and he moved first to St. Louis then to the New York office the following year. He soon became Assistant General Manager in 1904. He organized a partnership with his sister's husband Frank E. Anderson and the latter's brother Monroe D. Anderson in forming Anderson, Clayton & Company in Oklahoma City. They were joined in 1905 by Will's brother Benjamin. By 1916, two years after the Houston ship channel opened, and in the midst of World War I, the firm moved its headquarters to Houston. During the war, Clayton served on the Committee on Cotton Distribution of the War Industries Board, then returned to the firm, which greatly expanded into international markets. Before World War II, he returned to government service, later becoming Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (1945-47) under George C. Marshall. He is widely recognized as a principal architect of the Post-World War II Marshall Plan. Susan Vaughan (1881-1960), born in Kentucky, wed Will Clayton in 1902. She worked with noted architect Birdsall P. Briscoe on their home at this site, later advising him on other family homes in the River Oaks subdivision. Noted for her architectural taste, Sue was also known for philanthropic work, raising funds for the Fine Arts Museum, supporting women's suffrage and helping build low-income housing. The Claytons bequeathed their nearby home to Houston's public library. It is now the site of one of the country's foremost centers for genealogical research. The Claytons' legacy continues to enhance Houston culture and resources and their descendants still support programs and institutions the couple began. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William Lockhart Clayton left school early to become a court reporter and rose to build Anderson, Clayton & Company into one of the world's great cotton firms, moving its headquarters to Houston in 1916 as the new ship channel opened. Drawn into government service, he became Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs under George C. Marshall and a principal architect of the Marshall Plan that rebuilt postwar Europe. His wife, Susan Vaughan Clayton, shaped the family's celebrated River Oaks homes and gave herself to philanthropy, women's suffrage, and the Houston Public Library, to which the couple bequeathed their home.
Why it matters
From a Houston cotton office rose one of the framers of America's postwar global leadership, a reminder that the Marshall Plan's ideas were carried by businessmen as much as diplomats.
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Related people
- · William Lockhart Clayton
- · Susan Vaughan Clayton
- · George C. Marshall
- · Monroe D. Anderson
Related events
- · Marshall Plan
- · World War I
- · World War II
Themes & tags
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