The story
Read it all →How Clinton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Clinton.
Clinton was originally called Savannah, and under the latter name was laid out in 1816.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A+History
History · Clinton
Clinton’s post office opened in 1829, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 2 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.
1829first post office
11on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Clinton began
When was Clinton founded?
1829
The Clinton post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Warwick (1893), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 305 in 19102020 census: 1,197197 years
How historic is Clinton?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clinton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clinton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clinton is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clinton’s overall grade.
Founding era1829, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194037.3% of homes (±9.1) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register11 listings, 16 historic buildings, 132 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clinton’s 132 sits above most of its state (94% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). 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.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Clinton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19015 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1994. Watch Clinton change.Landmarks on the Register11 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Clinton’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Clinton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clinton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Clinton on the map, 1901 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clinton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Massillon sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clinton.
On the National Register
11 historic places in Clinton
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Limbach Block Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Unknown5
Pennsylvania Railroad1
Gable-Fronted Vernacular1
Limbach Block Historic DistrictUnknown
Francis Becker HouseBuilding
Porter-Aue HouseUnknown
David Smith HouseUnknown
Jonathan Price HouseUnknown
Humberger HouseBuilding
Sorrick-Oster StoreUnknown
Warwick Interlocking TowerPennsylvania Railroad
All 11 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Clinton, 1882–1915
Passages that mention Clinton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Clinton County Ohio1915 · page 61Read the page →
Read the text
Clinton” : “Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That all that part of Highland county within the following boundaries be and the same is hereby ‘attached to and shall remain the county of Clinton: Beginning at the southeast corner of Clinton county, adjoining Fayette county, thence running a line in a southwesterly direction to strike the line of Clinton county at such a point as to include four hundred square miles in the county of Clinton.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clinton County Ohio1915 · page 234Read the page →
Read the text
Ohio at Marion, Ohio, this marking the close of the present administration. The only other corps in Clinton county is the Jonathan Casto Corps No. 37, at Blanchester. : DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, George Clinton Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, was named in honor of Gen. George Clinton. for whom Clinton county was named. Clinton was a brigadiergeneral in the Revolutionary army in 1777. the first governor of the state of New York, and at the time of his death was vice-president of the United States. The chapter was organized on January 30, 1896. Mrs. C. C. Nichols had been appointed chapter regent
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Clinton County, Ohio1882 · page 728Read the page →
Read the text
Clinton Valley is situated on the Marietta Railroad, at the crossing of Wilmington & Westboro Free Turnpike, twelve miles from Wilmington, and is noted for being a great coaling and water station for said road, which gives employment to a number of men. It contains about 100 inhabitants; has two good stores, which are patronized with a lively trade; one steam saw-mill; also a good brick schoolhouse.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Clinton, 1829 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Clinton, decade by decade
Today18 recent
2015William Smith House in
2015Clinton village hall
2015Clinton former high school
2015Clinton Carpenter Gothic church
2015Map of Summit County Ohio Highlighting Clinton VillageMap
2012William Smith House 7894 Main St
2012Warwick Interlocking Tower 2955 S. First St
2012Louis Schmitt House and Store 2967 Hickory St
2012Limbach Block Historic District
2012Jonathan Price House 7903 Main St
2012Humberger House 7616 N. Second St
2008SORRICK-OSTER STORE
2008PORTER-AUE HOUSE
2008FRANCIS BECKER HOUSE
2008DAVID SMITH HOUSE
2008CLINTON OHIO AND ERIE CANAL HISTORIC DISTRICT, SUMMIT…
2006Clinton-SummitCoOH
2004OHMap-doton-ClintonPeople over time
Clinton, census by census
Between 305 and 1,337 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clinton’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Clinton’s post office has been open since 1829. Another post office, Warwick, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Clinton
Warwick
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Warwick
Gone or out of use
Clinton Elementary SchoolschoolWarwick Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Clinton
Clinton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Clinton’s history
What year was Clinton founded?
The Clinton post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clinton rank for history?
Clinton is more historic than 96% 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.
What is on the National Register in Clinton?
11 listings: 9 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Limbach Block Historic District and the Clinton Ohio and Erie Canal Historic District-Clinton Lock 2 and 3-Clinton Upper (Lock 2) and Clinton Lower (Lock 3), with 2 contributing buildings. 16 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Clinton?
37% of Clinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1954.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.