From 1821 until the arrival of the railroad in 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was the major trade route between New Mexico and Missouri. The Cimarron Cutoff, a major branch of the trail, passed through this portion of northeast New Mexico, and some of the best preserved segments of the route are located at nearby Kiowa National Grasslands along the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. Trade caravans and homesteaders traveling the Cimarron Cutoff passed near Clayton, which was founded in 1887 and named for the son of cattleman and ex-Senator Stephen W. Dorsey, one of its developers. Clayton became a major livestock shipping center for herds from the Pecos Valley and the Texas Panhandle.