Clinton County is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
located in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. As of 2010, the population was 33,224.
The
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is
Frankfort.
History
Clinton County officially came into existence on March 1, 1830, and was named in honor of
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...
,
the sixth
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
State and architect of the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
, which opened up the Upper Midwest to settlement. The act forming the county was approved by the Indiana General Assembly on January 29, 1830, and created Clinton from the eastern parts of neighboring
Tippecanoe County Tippecanoe may refer to several places or things in the United States:
* The 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana
* A nickname for William Henry Harrison (U.S. President March 1841–April 1841) from his role in the battle
** Tippecanoe and Tyler t ...
.
Lieutenant General James F. Record was born and raised in Clinton County; Gen Record was awarded 3x
Distinguished Service Crosses for his gallantry during the Vietnam War.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.96%) is land and (or 0.04%) is water.
There is E85 in Clinton County.
Adjacent counties
*
Carroll County (north)
*
Howard County (northeast)
*
Tipton County (east)
*
Hamilton County (southeast)
*
Boone County (south)
*
Montgomery County (southwest)
*
Tippecanoe County Tippecanoe may refer to several places or things in the United States:
* The 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana
* A nickname for William Henry Harrison (U.S. President March 1841–April 1841) from his role in the battle
** Tippecanoe and Tyler t ...
(west)
Cities and towns
Unincorporated towns
Extinct towns
*
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
*
Martinsville
*
Prairieville
Townships
Major highways
*
Interstate 65
Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...
*
U.S. Route 52
U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...
*
U.S. Route 421
U.S. Route 421 (also U.S. Highway 421, US 421) is a diagonal northwest–southeast United States Numbered Highway in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The highway runs for from Fort Fisher, North Caro ...
*
Indiana State Road 26
State Road 26 (IN 26 or SR 26) is an east–west discontinuous state road in the central part of the US state of Indiana. The western end of the western segment is at the Illinois border, where it continues as Illinois Rou ...
*
Indiana State Road 28
State Road 28 is an east–west road in central Indiana in the United States that crosses the entire state from east to west, covering a distance of about and passing about to the north of the state capitol of Indianapolis.
Route descriptio ...
*
Indiana State Road 29
State Road 29 is a north–south road in north-central Indiana.
Route description
The southern terminus of State Road 29 is at U.S. Route 421 and State Road 28 just south of the small town of Boyleston. Going north, it passes through Michi ...
*
Indiana State Road 38
State Road 38 in the U.S. State of Indiana serves as a connection between Lafayette in the west and Richmond in the east.
Route description
State Road 38 begins in Lafayette with State Road 25 and U.S. Route 52. There is an interchange with ...
*
Indiana State Road 39
State Road 39 in the U.S. State of Indiana is the name of two distinct north–south highways in the state of Indiana.
Route description
Southern section
Located in south-central Indiana, the shorter southern section of State Road 39 begins a ...
*
Indiana State Road 75
State Road 75, the highest two-digit route in the U.S. state of Indiana consists of two discontinuous north–south segments.
Route description
Southern section
The southern section is about long. It begins at U.S. Route 40 at the Putna ...
Airport
Clinton County is served by the
Frankfort Municipal Airport.
Railroads
*
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
*
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in Frankfort have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in December 1983 and a record high of was recorded in July 1980. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.
Government
The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the
Constitution of Indiana
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...
, and by the
Indiana Code
The Indiana Code is the code of laws for the U.S. state of Indiana. The contents are the codification of all the laws currently in effect within Indiana. With roots going all the way back to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the laws of Indiana h ...
.
County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.
Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.
[
Court: The county maintains a ]small claims court
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may b ...
that can handle some civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state-level circuit court.[
County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including ]sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
, auditor
An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...
, treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
, recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
, surveyor
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, and circuit court clerk
A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...
. Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare a party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
affiliation and to be residents of the county.[
Clinton County is part of ]Indiana's 4th congressional district
Indiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. From 2003 to 2013 the district was based primarily in the central part of the state, and consisted of all of Boone, Clinton, Hendricks, Morgan, ...
; Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
districts 7 and 23; and Indiana House of Representatives
The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...
district 38.
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 33,224 people, 12,105 households, and 8,754 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 13,321 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 6.8% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 13.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 22.4% were German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 11.1% were American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, 10.3% were Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, and 9.6% were English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
Of the 12,105 households, 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.7% were non-families, and 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13. The median age was 37.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $57,445. Males had a median income of $42,009 versus $29,086 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,131. About 7.5% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
2020 census
See also
*
Further reading
* ''History of Clinton County, Indiana: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political ... Citizens.'' Charleston: Nabu Press (2010).
References
External links
Clinton County Chamber of Commerce
Clinton County Economic Development
{{authority control
Indiana counties
1830 establishments in Indiana
Populated places established in 1830