Clinton

History

The city was established in 1829 and is named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. Many of Clinton's original settlers were immigrants working in coal mines, many from Italy. According to Vermillion County naturalization records, "...from 1856 to 1952... Vermillion County received almost 3,550 new citizens of foreign birth, the largest number coming during the first twelve years of [the 20th] century. Italians accounted for one-third, or 1,178, of the total number who filed Declarations, with Austrians the next largest group (675) and then Scots. At least 77 percent of the Italians were from the northern regions of Italy." This was in contrast to the majority of Italian immigrants to America during this same time period that hailed from southern Italy. Over time, the coal mining industry in Clinton ended but many of the Italian settlers stayed at Clinton. The Clinton post office has been in operation since 1823. The Clinton Paving and Building Brick Company was established in 1893, at which time it was producing 40,000 bricks per day.

Geography

Clinton is located in the southern part of the county along the Wabash River, near the intersection of State Road 63 (which passes just west of the city) and State Road 163 (which passes through the city). U.S. Route 41 lies just to the east of the city, across the river in neighboring Parke County. The smaller town of Fairview Park is adjacent to Clinton on the north side of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, Clinton has a total area of , of which (or 99.16%) is land and (or 0.84%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,099
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,075
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,830
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,817
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,670
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,664
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  1,647
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,433

Largest nearby schools

• South Vermillion High School
  High · Clinton · 478 students · 10.4:1 ratio
• South Vermillion Middle School
  Middle · Clinton · 343 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Central Elementary School
  Elementary · Clinton · 302 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Van Duyn Elementary School
  Elementary · Clinton · 247 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Ernie Pyle Elementary School
  Elementary · Clinton · 224 students · 10.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.26 — 2025-05-13
  7 km SSW of Lerna, Illinois
• M 2.5 — 2023-10-31
  7 km ESE of Linden, Indiana
• M 3.82 — 2021-06-17
  Illinois-Indiana border region
• M 3.1 — 2012-05-10
  0 km NW of Emison, Indiana
• M 2.7 — 2012-05-10
  1 km NNW of Emison, Indiana
• M 2.5 — 2007-11-28
  5 km S of Hutsonville, Illinois