Clinton

History

When the Clinton post office was established in 1829, it was named for DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York and the primary impetus behind the then-newly completed Erie Canal. Clinton was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 5, 1865, within portions of Clinton, Franklin and Union Townships. Clinton gained full independence from its three parent townships in 1895. The town is perhaps best known for its two mills which sit on opposite banks of the South Branch Raritan River. The Red Mill, with its historic village, dates back to 1810 with the development of a mill for wool processing. Across the river sits the Stone Mill, home of the Hunterdon Art Museum, located in a former gristmill that had been reconstructed in 1836 and operated continuously until 1952. In 1952, a group of local residents conceived of a plan to convert the historic building into an art museum, which is still in operation today. On October 30, 1891, a major fire destroyed 23 buildings and 17 businesses on Main Street. This is known here as the Great Fire of 1891. The Clinton Historic District encompassing much of the town was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 for its significance in architecture, commerce, engineering, industry and exploration/settlement. The district includes 270 contributing buildings. In 1998, Republican Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll proposed to honor former president Ronald Reagan by changing the town's name to Reagan, New Jersey, and renaming Clinton Township to Reagan Township.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 1.44 square miles (3.72 km2), including 1.35 square miles (3.49 km2) of land and 0.09 square miles (0.24 km2) of water (6.39%). Clinton is considered an exurb of New York City, as Hunterdon County lies on the western fringe of the New York City Metropolitan Area, which is mainly rural with scattered housing developments and old farm homes. Clinton is part of the Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area of Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. It serves as a bedroom community for many commuters working in and around Northern New Jersey and New York City, often younger residents who have supplanted long-time residents of Clinton. Clinton falls under the North Jersey climate zone. According to the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist at Rutgers University, the Northern climate zone covers about one-quarter of New Jersey and consists mainly of elevated highlands and valleys which are part of the Appalachian Uplands. Surrounded by land, this region can be characterized as having a continental climate with minimal influence from the Atlantic Ocean, except when the winds contain an easterly component. Prevailing winds are from the southwest in summer and from the northwest in winter. Being in the northernmost portion of the state, and with small mountains up to in elevation, the Northern Zone normally exhibits a colder temperature regime than other climate regions of the State of New Jersey. This difference is most dramatic in winter when average temperatures in the Northern Zone can be more than ten degrees Fahrenheit cooler than in the Coastal Zone. Annual snowfall averages in the northern zone as compared with an average of in the extreme south. Clinton falls…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,228
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,282
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  22,153
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  20,707
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,647
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  19,823
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,387
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,276

Largest nearby schools

• Hunterdon Central Regional High School District
  High · Flemington · 2,486 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• North Hunterdon High School
  High · Annandale · 1,237 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• Delaware Valley Regional High School
  High · Frenchtown · 722 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Reading-Fleming Intermediate School
  Middle · FLEMINGTON · 710 students · 10:1 ratio
• Voorhees High School
  High · Glen Gardner · 672 students · 9.3:1 ratio
• Readington Middle School
  Middle · WHITEHOUSE STATION · 492 students · 7.5:1 ratio
• Clinton Public School
  Elementary · CLINTON · 450 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• Clinton Township Middle School
  Middle · CLINTON · 425 students · 10.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-08-05
  1 km N of Hillsdale, New Jersey
• M 3 — 2025-08-03
  0 km W of Little Ferry, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-05-24
  6 km E of Califon, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-05-01
  1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-04-27
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-10
  5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey