Clinton

Town in Middlesex County, southern Connecticut, USA, on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Hammonasset River, 32 km/20 mi east of New Haven; population (1990) 12,800. It is a residential and resort town, with some agriculture and a fishing industry.

A monument commemorates the early years (1701-07) of the Collegiate School, later Yale University (New Haven), which began in Clinton.

Clinton

City in central Illinois, USA, 37 km/23 mi south of Bloomington; seat of De Witt County; population (1990) 7,400. Clinton is an agricultural and industrial centre with rail shops and a grain terminal. A nuclear power plant, opened in 1987, is 11 km/7 mi east of the city.

Clinton was an important administrative town in the 19th century. Clinton L Weldon Springs State Park is 3 km/2 mi to the southeast.

Clinton

City in east-central Iowa, USA, on the Mississippi River, 45 km/28 mi northeast of the Quad Cities and across from Fulton, Illinois; seat of Clinton County; population (2000) 27,800. The easternmost city in Iowa, Clinton's industries include manufacturing and agricultural distribution and processing, especially the handling of corn. Some products made here are cellophane, structural steel, steel tubing, clothing, and cartons and boxes.

Clinton claimed to be the ‘lumber capital of the world’ in the 19th century; now it is marketed as the ‘Port of the Heartland’, with riverboat cruises on the Mississippi. Attractions include the Bickelhaupt Aboretum and the Van Allen department store (1914) designed by Louis H Sullivan, which is now a civic centre. The town embarked upon a ten year development plan in 2000.

Clinton

Town in Prince George's County, central Maryland, USA, 19 km/12 mi southeast of Washington, DC; population (1990) 20,000. It is a suburb of the capital.

Clinton's Surratt House (1852) was used in the 1865 plot to assassinate President Lincoln; tavernkeeper Mary Surratt was later hanged as an accomplice. Andrews Air Force Base is to the northeast.

Clinton

Town in Worcester County, central Massachusetts, USA, on Wachusett Reservoir and the headwaters of the South Branch of the Nashua River, 19 km/12 mi northeast of Worcester; population (1998 est) 13,050. The town is involved in various manufactures, especially the Clinton Company operations, set up by the two Bigelow brothers, notably carpet manufacturers. By 1885 Clinton was the largest producer of carpets in the world, and has experienced suburban growth since then.

Originally part of Lancaster (to the north), Clinton grew up around two mills that produced lace for stagecoach windows, gingham, and carpets. The carpet factories were established in part of the rural district of Lancaster and the area was first called Factory Village, then Clintonville, before being incorporated as Clinton in 1850. The Bigelow brothers took the name Clinton from the De Witt Clinton Hotel in New York. The Wachussett Dam was constructed here in 1905 to supply water to Boston, and some mills and structures situated around the Wachussett Reservoir are included on the national register of historic places. Clinton was the site of the Lancaster Mills strike of 1912, a significant event in US labour history.

Famous residents from Clinton include the film director Clarence Brown who directed National Velvet (1944).

Clinton

City in Hinds County, west-central Mississippi, USA, 13 km/8 mi west-northwest of downtown Jackson; population (1990) 21,800. Clinton has been an academic community since Mississippi College opened in 1826. It is now a growing residential suburb of Jackson.

Clinton was settled in the early 1820s on the site of an Indian agency. It was for many years a sawmill and cotton processing centre.

Clinton

City in west-central Missouri, USA, 59 km/37 mi southwest of Sedalia; seat of Henry County; population (2000) 9,300. Settled in 1837, it grew rapidly after 1870, when large-scale dairy and poultry farms were introduced and coal mines were opened. In addition it is a trade centre for grain producers.

The large Harry S Truman Reservoir is to the southeast, on the Osage River.

Clinton

Town (population (1990) 2,100) and adjoining township (population (1990) 10,800) in Hunterdon County, west-central New Jersey, USA. Situated in a hilly agricultural area, Clinton is now a growing residential centre on Interstate 78.

Clinton was for many years a stage stop and mill town. On the South Branch of the Raritan River, the township is the site of Spruce Run and Round Valley reservoirs, created in the 1950s and 1960s.

Clinton

City in Custer and Washita Counties, western Oklahoma, USA, on the Washita River, 128 km/80 mi west of Oklahoma City; population (2000) 8,800. Founded in 1903, Clinton is an important shipping centre for cattle, wheat, and cotton. Industries include cottonseed milling and poultry packing, and the manufacture of steel goods and bricks.

Nearby are the Clinton Dam, Foss Lake (to the northwest), and Washita National Wildlife Refuge (to the northwest).

Clinton

City in Laurens County, northwestern South Carolina, USA, 89 km/55 mi northwest of Columbia; population (1990) 8,000. Industries include textiles, flour, roller bearings, and plywood; cotton, grain, peanuts, poultry, and dairy goods are produced locally.

The area saw several skirmishes in the War of Independence, especially the Battle of Musgrove's Mill (19 August 1780), fought 16 km/10 mi to the north-northeast. Settled around 1809, the town became a shipping point for cotton when the railroad arrived in 1835. Presbyterian College (1880) is here.

Clinton

Town in eastern Tennessee, USA, on the Clinch River, 10 km/6 mi northeast of Oak Ridge and 24 km/15 mi northwest of Knoxville; seat of Anderson County; population (1990) 9,000. The town is the trade centre for a farm and timber area.

The Tennessee Valley Authority's Norris Dam is 15 km/9 mi to the north-northeast.