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C+History
History · Clinton

Clinton’s post office opened in 1903, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #67 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
4on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
20famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clinton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clinton began

When was Clinton founded?

1903

The Clinton post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,781 in 19102020 census: 8,521123 years

How historic is Clinton?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
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 42% of U.S. towns, #67 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clinton’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194014.3% of homes (±3.1) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 7 historic buildings, 8.3 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 49%

Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clinton’s 8.3 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1910 to 1926, drew every building in Clinton.Famous sons and daughtersToby Keith, Meg Randall and 18 more were born here.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ 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
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewClinton, Oklahoma: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Clinton, building by building, 1910–1926

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Clinton fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

20 famous people were born in Clinton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Toby KeithAmerican country music singer and actor · b. 1961
Meg RandallAmerican actress · b. 1926
Jane Anne JayroeAmerican model and politician · b. 1947
C
Clifford ChatmanAmerican football player · b. 1959
Dillon OvertonAmerican professional baseball pitcher · b. 1991
G
Gordon GoreAmerican football player · b. 1913
The story

How Clinton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clinton.

Read it all →

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 160-acre (0.6 km2) allotment, the men made plans to purchase 320 acres (1.3 km2) from four different Indians (Hays, Shoe-Boy, Nowahy, and Night Killer) and paid them each $2,000 for 80 acres (320,000 m2) to begin the small settlement of Washita Junction.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clinton, 1903 to 1961

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Clinton post office opens
  3. 1909In the archiveClinton, Oklahoma
  4. 1926Born hereMeg Randall is born here
  5. 1930In the archivePop Hicks Restaurant -- Hiway 66 -- Clinton, Okla (80604)
  6. 1934BuiltMcLain Rogers Park is built
  7. 1947Born hereJane Anne Jayroe is born here
  8. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1959Born hereClifford Chatman is born here
  10. 1961Born hereToby Keith is born here
By decade

Clinton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s2 items
Clinton, Oklahoma1909Clinton, OklahomaPop Hicks Restaurant -- Hiway 66 -- Clinton, Okla (80604)c. 1930Pop Hicks Restaurant -- Hiway 66 -- Clinton, Okla (80…Postcard
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
The image of the abandoned Glancy Motor Hotel in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton is partial and so is its sign2020The image of the abandoned Glancy Motor Hotel in the …The First United Methodist Church in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton is a house of worship with unusual modernist …2020The First United Methodist Church in the western Okla…The Route 66 Museum, operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society, on a stretch of the old Chicago-to-Santa Monica U.S. …2020The Route 66 Museum, operated by the Oklahoma Histori…A vintage welcome sign in the shape of the State of Oklahoma outside the Route 66 Museum, operated by the Oklahoma Hist…2020A vintage welcome sign in the shape of the State of O…A large Indian chief figure dominates the Trading Post Boot Outlet in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton2020A large Indian chief figure dominates the Trading Pos…A large agricultural storage building in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton2020A large agricultural storage building in the western …The public library in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton2020The public library in the western Oklahoma city of Cl…Historical mural in the western Oklahoma city of Clinton2020Historical mural in the western Oklahoma city of Clin…Railroad tracks2018Railroad tracksRailroad tracks, Clinton, Oklahoma (2)2018Railroad tracks, Clinton, Oklahoma (2)McLain Rogers Park2015McLain Rogers ParkCrawford House2015Crawford HouseClinton Armory2015Clinton ArmoryUntitled photo2010Untitled photoOk-73 path2010Ok-73 path
On the map

Clinton on the map, 1957 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clinton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Clinton on the 1957 USGS mapClinton on the 1983 USGS map1957Clinton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clinton.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Clinton, Oklahoma
Retake this viewClinton, Oklahoma, 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clinton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Clinton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Crawford House
Crawford HouseClinton ArmoryMcLain Rogers Park, built 1934Y Service Station and Cafe
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Works Progress Administration1
Modern Movement1
Art Deco1
Mission Revival1
Crawford HouseVictorian
Clinton ArmoryWorks Progress Administration
McLain Rogers ParkModern Movement · Built 1934
All 4 listings
Y Service Station and CafeBuilding · listed 2004

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Clinton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,359

Between 2,596 and 10,359 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

Old corners and burying grounds

Clinton’s post office has been open since 1903.

Hamlets and corners on the map
East Junction
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clinton
ClintonJohn Old CrowTuberculosis Sanatorium

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Clinton’s history

What year was Clinton founded?

The Clinton post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Clinton rank for history?

Clinton is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #67 of 131 in Oklahoma. 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?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Crawford House (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the McLain Rogers Park, with 4 contributing buildings. 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Clinton?

14% of Clinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (8), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.