Layton was first settled around 1800 by John Layton and was known as Centreville, the settlement is located roughly in the middle of the township at the confluence of Layton-Bevans Road (CR 640), Tuttles Corner-Dingmans Road (CR 560), and Layton-Hainesville Road (CR 645). The Little Flat Brook, which provided a source of power for early mills, runs through the middle of the village. Simeon Fisher, a blacksmith, is noted to be the first to open a business at this site, followed by Abraham Bell, who had a carpenter's shop and a tavern. In 1835, Squire Layton established a store that served the residents of the community and travels alike. By 1860, the hamlet had significantly expanded to include a Methodist church, two stores, a post office, a tannery, a blacksmith shop, a cooperage shop, a sawmill, a small shop, a gristmill, a hotel, and more than fifteen dwellings. Shortly after that date, a one-room schoolhouse was erected in the hamlet.