Biohazard Cleanup Near West Jayton Jayton, TX

Jayton is the county seat of Kent County and the only incorporated town in the county.

Jayton's history begins in the 1880s as "Jay Flat," established about two miles from its present site and named after a local ranching family; Daniel M. Jay was granted a post office there in 1886 and served as the first postmaster.

In 1907 the townsite was moved to its present location on the new Stamford and Northwestern Railway and renamed Jayton, and the city incorporated on February 11, 1910.

The community's first newspaper, the Jayton Herald, was founded about 1908.

By 1925 Jayton was home to about 750 residents, its historical peak.

In 1954, following a lengthy and heated court battle, Jayton wrested the title of county seat from the declining nearby community of Clairemont, and a new courthouse was constructed in 1957.

The 2020 census counted 511 people in Jayton, living in 207 households.

Jayton dominates one of Texas's emptiest counties: all of Kent County held just 753 residents in the 2020 census, making it one of the least populous counties in the state.

Jayton's economy is based mainly on farming and oil-related services.

Local students attend the Jayton-Girard Independent School District, created in 1969 by merging Jayton's school with the school in nearby Girard; Jayton High School, home of the Jaybirds, plays six-man football.