The town was named for James Kay, a Low Moor Iron Company employee, who was in charge of building the town. Fifty houses were built in 1901, followed by 45 in 1902 and 17 in 1905. A suburb, called New Camp, was built in 1918-1919 with another 19-24 houses, and represents the only extant town site remaining. Kay Moor town's public facilities were spartan, with no churches, saloons, banks, or town hall, only pairs of segregated schools at top and bottom, company stores, a pool hall and a ball field. By 1952, Kaymoor Bottom had been abandoned, and in 1960, most of its structures were destroyed by fire.
