Clinton

History

The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E. Blake, decided to locate a town in the Washita River Valley. Because of governmental stipulations that an Indian could sell no more than one half of a allotment, the men made plans to purchase from four different Indians (Hays, Shoe-Boy, Nowahy, and Night Killer) and paid them each $2,000 for to begin the small settlement of Washita Junction. Congressional approval for the sale was granted in 1902 and Washita Junction quickly developed. The first businesses were the office of the Custer County Chronicle newspaper and the First National Bank building. When a post office was started, the postal department would not accept the name of Washita Junction; so the town was named for Judge Clinton F. Irwin. Early on, Clinton was well-served by railroads: the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway—which had its depot west of downtown—and both the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad—which had their combined depot east of downtown. In 1909 a group of Clinton businessmen formed the Clinton Street Railway, which ran straight between the two depots particularly to service transferring passengers. Dr. Walter S. Mason Jr. operated a Best Western motel (1964–2003) which welcomed Elvis Presley as an occasional guest in the 1960s. Today, cross-country traffic passes Clinton to the south on Interstate 40, which bypassed the city in 1970. In 1942, the federal government built a naval airfield at nearby Burns Flat and named it Naval Air Station Clinton. During the World War II period, the population of Clinton grew to nearly 7,000 residents. In 1949, Naval Air Station Clinton was deactivated and the airfield was deeded to the City of Clinton, specifying that the land could…

Geography

Clinton is located on historic U.S. Route 66, which is now Interstate 40. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23.2 km2), of which 8.9 square miles (23.1 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (0.22%) is water. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Clinton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Clinton was on July 19, 2022, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 15, 2021.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Dickcissel

  Spiza americana (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  1,042
• Grasshopper Sparrow

  Ammodramus savannarum (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  591
• Eastern Meadowlark

  Sturnella magna (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  546
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  484
• Cassin's Sparrow

  Peucaea cassinii (Woodhouse, 1852) · Aves
  334
• Northern Bobwhite

  Colinus virginianus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  292
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  250
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

  Tyrannus forficatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  216

Largest nearby schools

• CLINTON HS
  High · Clinton · 629 students · 17:1 ratio
• SOUTHWEST ES
  Elementary · Clinton · 468 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• NANCE ES
  Elementary · Clinton · 430 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• ARAPAHO-BUTLER ES
  Elementary · Arapaho · 350 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• CLINTON MS
  Middle · Clinton · 282 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• WASHINGTON ES
  Middle · Clinton · 271 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• ARAPAHO-BUTLER HS
  High · Arapaho · 124 students · 11.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.57 — 2026-09-14
  6 km E of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 2.61 — 2026-03-23
  8 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 2.54 — 2026-03-06
  7 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 2.53 — 2026-02-27
  8 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 2.56 — 2026-02-21
  8 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma
• M 2.64 — 2026-02-19
  8 km ENE of Calumet, Oklahoma