Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates (October 11, 1907 – December 6, 1998) was an African-American entertainer from Fountain Inn, South Carolina, United States.

[5] His uncle, Wit, made his crude first "peg leg"[5] after returning home from World War I and finding his nephew disabled.

[citation needed] He owned and operated the Peg Leg Bates Country Club in Kerhonkson, New York, from 1951 to 1987, along with his wife Alice E.

[1][5] The citizens of Fountain Inn erected a life-size statue that can be viewed in front of the city hall and Robert Quillen's library.

"[citation needed] U.S. Route 209 in Ulster County, New York has been named the "Clayton Peg Leg Bates Memorial Highway".

[12] He was the subject of the children's book Knockin' On Wood: Starring Peg Leg Bates, written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch, and published in 2012.