In 1898, Clayville became a stop along the Providence & Danielson Street Railways Company line that traveled from Providence R.I into Connecticut. The village was so industrialized that for two decades in the early 1900s there was a trolley service that connected Clayville to larger population centers, allowing commuters to travel back and forth. Even though this area in Scituate had a booming economy, the water quality was becoming degraded by sewage and mill pollutants. Immediate remedial action was necessary. April 21, 1915 became known as Black Friday in the town of Scituate, Rhode Island, a day that changed the history of that area forever. On that day, the Rhode Island General Assembly voted to use 14,800 acres of land in Scituate (38% of the town) (Scituate Reservoir Watershed Management Plan, 1990) to create a reservoir to supply fresh water to Greater Providence. This project resulted in the condemnation of 1,195 buildings, including 375 houses, 7 schools, 6 churches, 6 mills, 30 dairy farms, 11 ice houses, post offices and an electric railway system.
With the construction of the Scituate Reservoir and the subsequent closing and demolition of Clayville mills, the village's economy died and significant emigration occurred. Between the years 1920 and 1930 a population decline of close to 1000 people occurred. In 1980 the R.I Historical Preservation Commission recommended that the Clayville Historic District be placed on the National Registrar.
