Prominent Whig John M. Clayton, secretary of state under President Zachary Taylor, named his house for a victory of Taylor's in the Mexican War. The dwelling shows Greek Revival detailing grafted to a conservative five-bay, center-passage, brick form. The low-pitched roof has parapets at the ends, capped with stone; a Greek Doric piazza extends across the front. No architect has been identified. Kentucky senator Henry Clay visited Clayton here. Later, Clayton's great-nephew, Depression-era Delaware governor C. Douglass Buck, was born (1890) and died (1965) at the estate. Clayton promoted construction of the Delaware Railroad; for his part, Buck was chief architect of Delaware's highway system. Buck donated the building to the state in 1965, and it serves as a conference center. A handicapped-accessible entrance has been added (1999–2003, Bernardon Haber Holloway).