Most of Clinton was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 2000.
The Clinton post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Pineland (1882) and Wallace (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 549 in 20002020 census: 1,018134 years
How historic is Clinton?
D
More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clinton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Clinton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clinton is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clinton’s overall grade.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clinton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Clinton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Clinton’s post office has been open since 1892. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Pineland
1882–1883
Wallace
1883–1892
Clinton
1892–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Betters StationlocalePineland Post Officepost officeWallace - Clinton Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Clinton, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clinton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Clinton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Missoula metropolitan area. The population was 1,018 at the 2020 census. Originally established in 1883 as a stage stop and post office with the name "Betters' Station", the town name was changed in 1892 to honor C. L. Clinton, an official of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,052 to 1,018 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Clinton, 1882 to 1965
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Clinton post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clinton rank for history?
Clinton is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Clinton?
0.0% of Clinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1998.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2011
