Clinton | |
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City | |
Motto: So many things to do - With a river view! | |
Location in the State of Iowa |
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Location in the United States | |
Coordinates: 41°50′49″N 90°12′26″W / 41.84694°N 90.20722°WCoordinates: 41°50′49″N 90°12′26″W / 41.84694°N 90.20722°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Iowa |
County | Clinton |
Incorporated | 1836 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Mark Vulich |
Area | |
• Total | 38.01 sq mi (98.45 km2) |
• Land | 35.15 sq mi (91.04 km2) |
• Water | 2.86 sq mi (7.41 km2) |
Elevation | 600 ft (185 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 26,885 |
• Estimate (2012) | 26,647 |
• Rank | 18th in Iowa |
• Density | 764.9/sq mi (295.3/km2) |
Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP codes | 52732-52734, 52736, 52771 |
Area code(s) | 563 |
FIPS code | 19-14430 |
GNIS feature ID | 0455480 |
Website | http://www.cityofclintoniowa.us/ |
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,885 as of 2010. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton is the principal city of the Clinton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is coterminous with Clinton County. Clinton was incorporated on January 26, 1857.
Among the first settlers of European origin in the Clinton area was Elijah Buell, who built a log cabin on July 25, 1835 and established the town of Lyons, named after the French city of the same name. Lyons later merged with Clinton.
Clinton was platted as the town of New York in 1836 by Joseph Bartlett. In March 1837, Noble and Sarah Gregory Perrin purchased 136 acres (0.55 km2) of land in what is now Clinton and raised their family in a cabin located approximately at the foot of the railroad bridge. Their oldest daughter, Valeria, married Dr. Augustus Lafayette Ankeny, who participated in the Blackhawk war and came to Lyons in April 1850.
Mary Perrin, born September 26, 1837, was the first female child of European ancestry born in Clinton County. In 1839, as in most early river towns, the town consisted of a sprinkling of cabins, two stores and a tavern. In 1855, the Chicago, Iowa, Nebraska Railroad announced it would cross the river at Little Rock Island adjacent to Bartlett's settlement. The Iowa Land Company was organized on May 26, 1855 and on July 4, bought Bartlett's tract and renamed it Clinton, in honor of DeWitt Clinton, two-time governor of New York and one of the driving forces behind the construction of the Erie Canal.
On November 10, 1855, the first plat of the city of Clinton was signed. On January 26, 1857 the city was granted a charter and on March 7, the charter was adopted. On April 5, 1859, the amended charter of the city was adopted, which lasted until a general charter was adopted in 1867. In June 1859 the railroad line was completed to Cedar Rapids. The first train crossed from the Illinois shore to Little Rock Island at noon, January 9, 1860, and was ferried from there to the Iowa shore. In January 1864, construction was started on the span from Little Rock Island to the Iowa shore and was completed on January 6, 1865. The original single track railroad bridge was replaced by a double track bridge that was completed in 1909.