Clinton is a town in Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 15,428 at the 2020 census.

History

Clinton was first settled in 1654 as a part of Lancaster after the land was deeded by Sachem Sholan of the Nashaway in 1643. It was officially incorporated as a separate town on March 14, 1850, and named after the DeWitt Clinton Hotel in New York, a favorite place of the town's founders, Erastus Brigham Bigelow and his brother Horatio. Clinton became an industrialized mill town, using the

Nashua River The Nashua River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It ...

as a source for water power. In 1897, construction began on the Wachusett Dam, culminating in the filling of the Wachusett Reservoir in 1908. This flooded a substantial portion of Clinton and neighboring towns, which had to be relocated. A noteworthy feature of the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

metropolitan public water service was begun in 1896 in the Wachusett lake reservoir at Clinton. The basin excavated there by ten years of labor, lying 385 ft. above high-tide level of

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

, had a capacity of 63,068,000,000 gallons of water and was the largest municipal reservoir in the world in 1911, yet was only part of a system planned for the service of the greater metropolitan area. Part of the Central Massachusetts Railroad line abandoned in 1958 includes a tunnel near Clamshell Road. Railroads came to the town to serve this industry, including the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad (Fitchburg Branch of the Old Colony Railroad), the

Central Massachusetts Railroad The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. The eastern Train station#Terminus, terminus of the line was at North Cambridge Junction where it split off from the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad, Middlesex Central B ...

, and the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad (the last two later merged into the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

). By 1890, Clinton was noted for its manufacturing of carpets and woven wire.Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890, pp. 241–242
/ref> Clinton claims to have the oldest continuously-used baseball field in the world, Fuller Field, created in 1878. This challenges the claim by

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, which argues for

Labatt Memorial Park Labatt Memorial Park (formerly Tecumseh Park, 1877–1936) is a ballpark, baseball stadium near the forks of the Thames River (Canada), Thames River in central London, Ontario, Canada. It is in size, has 5,200 seats and a natural grass field. ...

, established as Tecumseh Park in 1877. This is disputed by Clinton because the London field has been flooded and rebuilt twice, including a reorientation of the bases, and there is doubt Tecumseh Field was in continuous use after the 1883 flood.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 21.78%, is water. The

runs through the town, and the large Wachusett Reservoir lies to the south of the town center. Clinton is bordered by Lancaster to the north,

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

to the northeast,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to the east, Boylston to the south, and Sterling to the west.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 13,435 people, 5,597 households, and 3,397 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,844 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.20%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.58%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 5.95% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 11.60% of the population. Ethnic heritages include Irish, Brazilian, Scottish, German, Québécois, Acadian, Swedish, Italian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Greek, and Polish. Many emigrants from the Louisburgh area of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

settled in the small town in the early 1900s, giving Clinton a large Irish population till this day. There were 5,597 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. Of all households, 33.1% were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $44,740, and the median income for a family was $53,308. Males had a median income of $37,263 versus $30,035 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $22,764. About 4.9% of families and 7.1% 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 ...

, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those ages 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Library

The public library in Clinton opened in 1873. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Clinton spent 0.99% ($325,383) of its budget on its public library—approximately $23 per person.July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; cf. The FY2008 Municipal Pie: What's Your Share? Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Board of Library Commissioners. Boston: 2009. Available
Municipal Pie Reports
. Retrieved August 4, 2010

Sites of interest

* Central Park * Clinton Business District * Fuller Field * Museum of Russian Icons * South Meadow and Mossy Ponds * Wachusett Reservoir Clinton Dam

Sports

Fuller Field is the home of the Clinton 76ers, a men's semi-professional baseball team as part of the CNEBA, and winners of the 2017 CNEBA title.

Government

Education

Clinton Public Schools

Clinton Elementary School (K–4) Clinton Middle School (5–8) Clinton High School (9–12)

Notable people

* Mike Bonin, Los Angeles City Councilor *

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when h ...

, film director * Joseph E. Casey, lawyer and former US Representative * Fred J. Douglas, former US Congressman * Tim Fortugno, former Major League Baseball pitcher * Carroll Gibbons, musician * Joseph L. Gormley, chief of chemistry and toxicology for the FBI * Sliding Billy Hamilton, member of Baseball Hall of Fame * Mal Kittridge, baseball player *

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning five decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

, actress * Frank O'Malley, English professor * Philip J. Philbin, former US Congressman * Jimmy Ryan, major league baseball player * Sydney Schanberg,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

–winning reporter * David Walsh, former US Senator and Massachusetts governor * Scott Young, former professional ice hockey player

References

External links

Town of Clinton official website

''A Town Called Clinton''

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

created by former residents Billy and Patrick McNally {{Authority control Towns in Massachusetts Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts