Clinton, Mississippi
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Clinton is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in
Hinds County, Mississippi Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Co ...
, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the 10th most populous city in Mississippi. The population was 28,100 at the 2020 United States census.


History

Founded in 1823, Clinton was originally known as Mt. Salus, which means "Mountain of health". It was named for the plantation home of
Walter Leake Walter Daniel Leake (May 20, 1762November 17, 1825) was a judge, U.S. senator, and governor of Mississippi. He served as a United States Senator from Mississippi (1817–1820), as a justice in 1821, and as third Governor of Mississippi (1822â ...
, third governor of Mississippi, which was located in Clinton and built in 1812. The road east from Vicksburg was completed to Mount Salus and the federal government located the
United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government responsible for Public domain (land), public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 ...
at Mount Salus in 1822. The original federal survey in 1822 references a spring called "Swafford's Spring" at the site of the town. In 1828, the city changed its name to Clinton in honor of
DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...
, the former governor of New York who led completion 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 navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
. The first road through Mount Salus/Clinton was the
Natchez Trace The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland River, Cumberland, Tennessee River, ...
, improved from a centuries-old Native American path. Currently Clinton has three major highways that pass through the city: the Natchez Trace Parkway, U.S. Route 80, and
Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...
.
Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private university affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and located in Clinton, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1826, MC is the second oldest Baptists, Baptist-affiliated college or university in ...
, a Christian university located in Clinton, is the oldest college in the state of Mississippi. It was founded January 24, 1826, as Hampstead Academy, the second male college in the state after Jefferson College. Mississippi College is the second oldest
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
university in the world, and was the first coeducational college in the United States to grant a degree to a woman. Clinton is home to sports teams known as the "Clinton Arrows" and "Mississippi College
Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
s". Hillman College, originally for women, was founded in 1853 as Central Female Institute, supported by the Central Baptist Association. It changed its name in 1891.
Mount Hermon Female Seminary Mount Hermon Female Seminary (18751924) in Clinton, Mississippi was a historically black institution of higher education for women. History Founded in 1875 by Sarah Ann Dickey, the school was patterned after Dickey's alma mater, Mount Holyoke ...
, a
historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
, was established in 1875 by
Sarah Ann Dickey Sarah Ann Dickey (April 25, 1838 – January 23, 1904) was an American educator from Ohio who in 1875 founded Mount Hermon Female Seminary, a historically black institution of higher education for women in Clinton, Mississippi. She returned to ...
. It closed in 1924 as students moved to co-educational institutions. The Clinton-Vicksburg Railroad was the second oldest in the state, incorporated in 1831. It contributed to the export of 20,000 bales of cotton annually from this city, the most of any city between Vicksburg and Meridian.''Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions ...''
ed. by Dunbar Rowland, Southern Historical Publishing Association, 1907, pp. 455–459
Cotton from three surrounding counties was shipped through Clinton and by rail to Grand Gulf on the Mississippi. During the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
,
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
forces, as well as Union troops— the latter commanded by generals
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
and Sherman—briefly occupied Clinton on their way to the
Battle of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
in May 1863. Grant had mistakenly believed that John C. Pemberton, a
Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
, would attack him at Clinton. Grant finally took Vicksburg in this campaign.


Clinton Riot

In September 1875 during the election campaign, a Republican political rally was held in downtown Clinton, where 3,000 people were gathered expecting Governor Adelbert Ames and other prominent speakers. White insurgents disrupted the rally, attacking blacks in what was called the " Clinton Riot." It resulted in the deaths of several white men and an estimated 50 blacks later that night and over the next few days. More armed whites arrived by train and attacked blacks. Among the black victims were schoolteachers, church leaders, and local Republican organizers.
Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstr ...
, ''Reconstruction, 1865–1877'', 1988, paperback: Perennial Press, 1989, p. 560
Whites had been attacking black and white Republicans in every election cycle, and that year the paramilitary Red Shirts arose in the state as a force to intimidate blacks and suppress black voting. The governor appealed to the federal government for protection and the U.S. government sent more troops. But election-related violence continued through the fall and, together with fraud at the polls, resulted in white Democrats regaining control of the state legislature and, in 1876, the governor's seat. This political shift signaled the end of the Reconstruction era, confirmed when the federal government withdrew remaining troops in 1877.


20th century to present

During World War II, Camp Clinton was established as a German
POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...
camp south of town; it housed about 3,000 German soldiers. Most of the prisoners were from the
Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...
. Of the 40 German generals captured in the war, Camp Clinton housed 35 of them. The German soldiers provided the labor to build a replica model of the Mississippi River Basin for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, used for planning and designing flood prevention. Clinton, the smallest city to ever host a
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
company, was the headquarters for
WorldCom MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunicatio ...
from the mid-1990s until 2002. WorldCom went bankrupt due to what was at the time the largest accounting scandal in U.S. history. The financial dealings resulted in fraud-related convictions of
Bernard Ebbers Bernard John Ebbers (August 27, 1941 – February 2, 2020) was a Canadian-American businessman and the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom. Under his management, WorldCom grew rapidly but collapsed in 2002 amid revelations of accounting irregulariti ...
, CEO, and Scott Sullivan, CFO. The company changed its name to MCI and moved its corporate headquarters location to
Ashburn, Virginia Ashburn is a unincorporated settlement and census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, its population was 46,349, up from 3,393 in 1990. It is northwest of Washington, D.C., and par ...
.
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
, MCI's successor, owns SkyTel (no relation to
Bell Mobility Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE (telecommunication), LTE and Evolved HSPA, HSPA+ on ...
's Skytel brand). It still occupies the massive former WorldCom compound in Clinton. On April 15, 2011, an EF3 tornado struck the city at about 11:00 am. CDT. It produced damage near
Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...
, which included total destruction to the BankPlus building. Malaco Records was destroyed as well. Ten people were injured by the tornado.


Geography

According to the 2010 United States census, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Demographics

Up from 2010's 25,216 people, the city of Clinton had a population of 28,100 people, 9,047 households, and 6,187 families according to the 2020 census. According to the 2020 census, its population was 51.3% non-Hispanic white, 38.1% Black and African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 3.1% two or more races, and 2.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.


Government

Clinton operates as a code charter form of government, divided into six Wards. The local governing body consists of the mayor, one
Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
representing each of the six Wards and one Alderman-at-Large whose duty is to represent the entire community. As of July 3, 2017, Philip R. Fisher, a retired major general in the
Mississippi National Guard The Mississippi National Guard (MSNG), commonly known as the Mississippi Guard, is both a Mississippi state and a federal government organization, part of the United States National Guard. It is part of the Mississippi Military Department, a state ...
, was the city's mayor.


Economy

At one point
WorldCom MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunicatio ...
(now
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
) was headquartered in Clinton. In 2003 the company announced that it would move its headquarters to
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. MCI Inc – SC 13D/A – LCC International Inc
" ''
Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
''. March 14, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
Automotive component manufacturer
Delphi Corporation Aptiv PLC is an Irish- American automotive technology supplier with headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Aptiv grew out of the now-defunct American company, Delphi Automotive Systems, which itself was formerly a component of General Moto ...
operated a plant in Clinton from the early 1970s until its closure in 2009, making cable and wiring connectors."Delphi closes Clinton, MS plant"
''Plastics Today'', October 5, 2009
When Delphi closed the plant in late 2009, with the loss of 280 jobs, production moved to Delphi's
Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
facility.


Education


Universities and colleges

*
Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private university affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and located in Clinton, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1826, MC is the second oldest Baptists, Baptist-affiliated college or university in ...
founded 1826, incorporating Hillman College 1853–1942 * The local community college is
Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi, United States and branches in Jackson, Pearl, Utica, and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes the counties of Hinds, Cla ...
.


Primary and secondary schools

The city of Clinton's public schools are served by the Clinton Public School District, including Clinton High School (Grades 10 through 12)


Public library

Jackson/Hinds Library System operates the Quisenberry Library in Clinton. In 2018 the Clinton city government, citing problems with the sanitary condition, closed the library. It stated that it would reopen if the library system revised the terms of the library lease. The library later reopened. However, in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it closed again for over two months. It reopened once more to the public on June 5, 2020, with public health and safety precautions in effect.


Sports

The Mississippi Brilla is a soccer team competing in
USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
(PDL), the fourth highest league of the
American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...
, and playing in the Mid-South Division of the Southern Conference. They play their home games at Traceway Park in the city of Clinton.


Notable people

*
Cam Akers Cam Akers (born June 22, 1999) is an American professional American football, football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles football, Florida St ...
– Professional football player * Mandy Ashford – singer, model, and member of
Innosense Innosense was an American girl group that were active from 1997 to 2003. History 1997–1999: Formation and "Wherever You Are" The band was managed by Lou Pearlman and Janet Lynn Harless (mother of Justin Timberlake). The original members were ...
. *
Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...
– pop singer, actor and producer; member of the pop group *NSYNC * William Joel Blass – jurist, legislator, and lawyer * Charles Hillman Brough –
governor of Arkansas The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...
from 1917 to 1921, was born in Clinton * Jon Brown – NFL kicker *
Keith Carlock Keith Carlock (born November 29, 1971) is an American musician who has played drums with Toto, Wayne Krantz, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Tal Wilkenfeld, John Mayer, Sting, Chris Botti, and Christopher Cross. In ' ...
, jazz drummer and Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee * Cynthia F. Cooper – auditor, whistleblower * Ted DiBiase, Sr. –
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
, minister * Ted DiBiase, Jr. –
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
* Dominic Douglas – professional football player *
Bernard Ebbers Bernard John Ebbers (August 27, 1941 – February 2, 2020) was a Canadian-American businessman and the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom. Under his management, WorldCom grew rapidly but collapsed in 2002 amid revelations of accounting irregulariti ...
– Canadian businessman and the co-founder and CEO of
WorldCom MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunicatio ...
. * Jenna Edwards – model, former Miss Teen All-American, former Miss Florida * Meredith Edwards –
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
singer * Shelly Fairchild – country music singer * Taryn Foshee – 2006 Miss Mississippi * Edgar Godbold – Mississippi College biology professor from 1906 to 1912 * James E. Graves, Jr. –
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...
judge * Phillip Gunn – former Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives *
Barry Hannah Barry Hannah (April 23, 1942 – March 1, 2010) was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi.Kellogg, Carolyn (March 2, 2010)"Author Barry Hannah, 67, has died" ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2013. Hannah was born in ...
– writer, professor * Beth Holloway – author and mother of
Natalee Holloway Natalee is a female given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other me ...
*
Natalee Holloway Natalee is a female given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other me ...
– unsolved disappearance * Jaret Holmes – former
placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
(various teams) * Niesa Johnson – two time All-American, Professional Basketball Player * Daniel Curtis Lee – actor * Rory Lee – former vice president and interim president of Mississippi College * Robert S. McElvaine – writer, professor *
Crystal Renn Crystal Renn (born June 18, 1986) is an American model and author. Personal life Renn started her modeling career in high fashion at the age of 14 after being spotted by a professional scout in her hometown in Clinton, Mississippi. Renn was tol ...
, plus-size model * Scott Savage – former drummer of Grammy and Dove award-winning band
Jars of Clay Jars of Clay is a Christian alternative rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The members met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay. (2005). Making the GradeiTunes Originals - Jars of Clay. AC Audio Essential Records. The ...
* Leon Seals – former
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
and
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
*
Jerod Ward Jerod Davanta Ward (born May 5, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player, who played shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center positions. Currently, Ward is a TEDx & Motivational Keynote Speaker, Consultant, Coach ...
– Former professional basketball player


References


External links


City website


* ttps://www.census.gov US Census Bureau Data on Clinton, Mississippi
City-Data: Clinton, Mississippi
{{Authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Hinds County, Mississippi Cities in Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi Populated places established in 1823 1823 establishments in Mississippi