Clinton | |
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Coordinates: 36°6′17″N84°7′43″W / 36.10472°N 84.12861°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Tennessee |
County | Anderson |
Incorporated | 1801 [1] |
Government | |
• Type | Council–manager |
• Mayor | Scott Burton |
• Vice Mayor | Rob Herrell |
• City Manager | Roger Houck |
• City Council | List of Councilmen |
Area | |
• Total | 12.25 sq mi (31.72 km2) |
• Land | 11.63 sq mi (30.11 km2) |
• Water | 0.62 sq mi (1.60 km2) |
Elevation | 824 ft (251 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 10,056 |
• Density | 864.88/sq mi (333.93/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP codes | 37716-37717 |
Area code | 865 |
FIPS code | 47-15580 [6] |
GNIS feature ID | 1305981 [4] |
Website | www |
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, Tennessee. [7] Clinton is included in the Knoxville metropolitan area. Its population was 10,056 at the 2020 census.
Prehistoric Native American habitation was common throughout the Clinch River valley, especially during the Woodland period (1000 B.C. – 1000 A.D.) and the Mississippian period (1000–1550 A.D.). A number of such habitation sites were excavated in the 1930s and 1950s in anticipation of the construction of Norris Dam and Melton Hill Dam, respectively. The Melton Hill excavations uncovered two substantial Woodland period villages along the Clinch at Bull Bluff and Freels Bend, both approximately 20 miles (32 km) downstream from Clinton. [8]
By the time Euro-American explorers and longhunters arrived in the Clinch valley in the mid-18th century, what is now Anderson County was part of a vast stretch of land claimed by the Cherokee. [9] Although the Treaty of Holston, signed in 1791, was intended as a negotiation with the Cherokee to prohibit Euro-American settlement of the area including what is today Anderson County, the treaty became ineffective as more settlers moved through the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia and North Carolina into Tennessee. The earliest settlers in Anderson County included the Wallace, Gibbs, Freels, Frost and Tunnell families. The flooding of white settlers into the Indian domain was cause for several skirmishes, which eased after the Treaty of Tellico in 1798 (including an origination point for the land to be relinquished from the Cherokee being the Tellico Blockhouse) allowed for greater ease in settling the area. [10]
Founded in 1801, the town of Burrville was named in honor of Aaron Burr, first-term Vice President under Thomas Jefferson. Land was selected and partitioned for a courthouse, and Burrville was designated as the county seat for the newly formed Anderson County. The county was partitioned from portions of Grainger County and Knox County in 1801; neighboring Roane County was also formed from a portion of Knox County in 1801. [11]
On November 8, 1809, by act of Tennessee State Legislature, the town of Burrville was renamed because of the disgrace felt when Burr was charged with treason for conspiring with the governor of the Louisiana Purchase, to form another country from part of the Louisiana Purchase and part of Mexico. The selection of the name "Clinton" was most likely to honor George Clinton or his nephew, DeWitt Clinton. [12] George Clinton was one of Burr's New York political rivals who, along with Alexander Hamilton, destroyed Burr's bid for the governorship of New York after his single-term vice presidency. George Clinton succeeded Burr as the second-term vice president for Jefferson in 1805 (and also served as James Madison's vice president, making Clinton the first vice president to serve under two presidents and the first vice president to die in office). Because of the political position of George Clinton as vice president at the time of Burrville's name change, compared to DeWitt Clinton's position as the mayor of New York City, most likely the residents of the town of Burrville would have been more readily identifiable and more honorable toward George Clinton than DeWitt; therefore, it is most likely Clinton was named after George Clinton, barring historical proof.
The Clinton Engineer Works, named after Clinton, was the official name for the Manhattan Project site in Tennessee which produced the enriched uranium used in the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, as well as the first examples of reactor-produced plutonium. The site was also known by the name of its largest township, Oak Ridge. The works were located starting about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Clinton, continued for 10 miles (16 km) towards Kingston and contained roughly 58,900 acres (23,800 ha).
External videos | |
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Q&A interview with Rachel Louise Martin on A Most Tolerant Little Town: The Explosive Beginning of School Desegregation, July 30, 2023, C-SPAN |
In 1956, Clinton gained national attention when segregationists opposed the desegregation of Clinton High School. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education , a court order required the desegregation of the high school. Twelve African-American students enrolled in the high school in the fall of 1956. On August 27, 1956, The Clinton 12 attended classes at Clinton High School for the first time, becoming the first African-Americans to desegregate a state-supported public school in the Southeast.
While the first day of classes occurred without incident, pro-segregation forces led by John Kasper and Asa Carter arrived in Clinton the following week and rallied the city's white citizens. Riots broke out in early September, forcing Governor Frank G. Clement to station National Guard units in Clinton throughout September. Sporadic violence and threats continued for the next two years, culminating in the bombing of Clinton High School on October 5, 1958. With an influx of outside aid, however, the school was quickly rebuilt. [13] A museum dedicated to the desegregation crisis, the Green McAdoo Cultural Center, is housed in Clinton's segregation-era Green McAdoo School.
In the 1990s, the Rogers Group, a firm specializing in road paving, began a campaign to reactivate an abandoned quarry and build an asphalt plant just east of Clinton near the community of Bethel. The initiative met with opposition from local and environmental groups, who were concerned that the plant would release cancer-causing toxins into nearby residential neighborhoods. Others were concerned about plummeting property values, noise pollution, damage from rock blasting, and environmental damage to Buffalo Creek. The company argued that it would follow stringent environmental and pollution guidelines, retention ponds would limit runoff, and that the site would be surrounded by vegetation. Nevertheless, Anderson County refused to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, and Rogers Group sued the county in 1995. [14] [15]
In December 2006, after Rogers Group's lawsuit had stagnated, the city of Clinton voted to annex the quarry property. [14] On August 20, 2007, the Clinton City Council voted 6–1 to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, paving the way for the plant's construction. In response, a local advocacy group known as Citizens for Safety and Clean Air filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Bethel residents in Anderson County Chancery Court contending that the council's rezoning was unconstitutional and seeking an injunction preventing the council from rezoning the property as an industrial zone. [16]
In 2018, urban developers and city officials met with the proposal to redevelop the downtown and waterfront area of Clinton after the Tennessee Department of Transportation began construction on a new bridge to carry US 25W-SR 9 across the Clinch River. [17] The highlight of the project is the 7-acre site of the former Magnet Mills complex, having 1,400 feet of Clinch River frontage. Proposed additions to the site include improved commercial development and pedestrian access in the downtown area, and a waterfront esplanade and multi-story mixed-use buildings with upper-level residential space and ground level retail and restaurant space. [17]
Since 2018, an unknown developer based out of Knoxville has planned, under contract, the purchase of the Magnet Mills site along with a nearby plot of land with the intention of converting the area into a mix of residential and retail use. [18] The City of Clinton has also applied for grants towards the improvement of the streets and sidewalks in the city's downtown area. [18] In July 2019, the remaining structures of Magnet Mills site, excluding the water tower, were demolished as the developer closed the sale on mill site. [19]
In early 2019, Aspire, a 450-acre multi-amenity park, was planned for development south of Clinton's downtown area. The park, proposed by the local non-profit organization, the Hollingsworth Foundation, which owns land for the site along with the Tennessee Valley Authority, plans for the park to give visitors access to hiking and mountain biking trails, event venues, kayak ports, and flower gardens. [20] In October 2019, construction work began on the site of the park. [21]
Clinton is located at 36°6′17″N84°7′43″W / 36.10472°N 84.12861°W (36.104772, −84.128487), [22] along the Clinch River, immediately downstream from a point where the southwestward-flowing river bends sharply to the northeast before wrapping around Lost Ridge and continuing again toward the southwest. This section of the river is technically part of Melton Hill Lake, a reservoir created by the impoundment of the Clinch at Melton Hill Dam some 35 miles (56 km) downstream from Clinton. Clinton is located approximately 59 miles (95 km) upstream from the mouth of the Clinch at the Tennessee River.
Clinton is surrounded by a series of long, narrow ridges that represent the western fringe of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Province. Northwest of Clinton is Walden Ridge, the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau.
Clinton is concentrated around the junction of Tennessee State Route 61 and U.S. Route 25W. State Route 61 connects the city to Norris and Andersonville to the northeast and the community of Marlow and the town of Oliver Springs to the southwest, following a natural series of pathways through the mountain terrain. U.S. Route 25W connects the city to Knoxville to the southeast and Rocky Top and Caryville to the north. Interstate 75 intersects TN-61 northeast of downtown Clinton.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Clinton has a total area of 12.0 square miles (31.1 km2), of which 11.4 square miles (29.6 km2) is land and 0.58 square miles (1.5 km2), or 4.91%, is water. [23]
The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Clinton has a Humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. [24]
Climate data for Clinton, Tennessee | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 45 (7) | 50 (10) | 60 (16) | 70 (21) | 77 (25) | 84 (29) | 87 (31) | 86 (30) | 80 (27) | 70 (21) | 58 (14) | 48 (9) | 68 (20) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25 (−4) | 28 (−2) | 36 (2) | 43 (6) | 52 (11) | 60 (16) | 65 (18) | 64 (18) | 58 (14) | 45 (7) | 36 (2) | 29 (−2) | 45 (7) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5.1 (130) | 5.3 (130) | 5.7 (140) | 4.3 (110) | 3.8 (97) | 4.6 (120) | 5.2 (130) | 4.1 (100) | 3.2 (81) | 2.6 (66) | 3.6 (91) | 5 (130) | 52.7 (1,340) |
Source: Weatherbase [25] |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1870 | 325 | — | |
1880 | 263 | −19.1% | |
1890 | 1,198 | 355.5% | |
1900 | 1,111 | −7.3% | |
1910 | 1,090 | −1.9% | |
1920 | 1,409 | 29.3% | |
1930 | 1,927 | 36.8% | |
1940 | 2,761 | 43.3% | |
1950 | 3,712 | 34.4% | |
1960 | 4,943 | 33.2% | |
1970 | 4,794 | −3.0% | |
1980 | 5,245 | 9.4% | |
1990 | 8,972 | 71.1% | |
2000 | 9,409 | 4.9% | |
2010 | 9,841 | 4.6% | |
2020 | 10,056 | 2.2% | |
[5] |
Race | Number | Percentage |
---|---|---|
White (non-Hispanic) | 8,961 | 89.11% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 244 | 2.43% |
Native American | 21 | 0.21% |
Asian | 84 | 0.84% |
Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.03% |
Other/Mixed | 493 | 4.9% |
Hispanic or Latino | 250 | 2.49% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,056 people, 4,417 households, and 2,857 families residing in the city.
As of the census [6] of 2000, there were 9,409 people, 4,201 households, and 2,688 families residing in the city. The population density was 862.8 inhabitants per square mile (333.1/km2). There were 4,441 housing units at an average density of 407.2 per square mile (157.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.47% White, 2.72% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.
There were 4,201 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,481, and the median income for a family was $43,099. Males had a median income of $32,120 versus $23,550 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,730. About 11.8% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Clinton uses the council-manager government system, which was established in 1890 when the city was incorporated. Clinton is governed by a seven-member city council composed of the mayor and six council members. [27]
Clinton is represented in the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 33rd district by John Ragan, a Republican. [28] In the Tennessee State Senate, the city is represented by the 5th district by Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee Randy McNally, also a Republican. [29] Clinton is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Chuck Fleischmann of the 3rd congressional district, a Republican. [30]
Roane County is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,404. Its county seat is Kingston. Roane County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 478,971, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Tennessee. Knox County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan area. The county is located at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee. Near the heart of the county is the origin of the Tennessee River, at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers.
Anderson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the northern part of the state in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 77,123. Its county seat is Clinton. Anderson County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee. Its population was 1,599 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Alcoa is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 10,978 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
LaFollette is a city in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 7,456 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2018 of 6,737. It is the principal city of the LaFollette, Tennessee micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Campbell County, and is a component of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. While the city's official spelling is one word ("LaFollette")—after its founders, Harvey Marion LaFollette and his younger brother Grant LaFollette—several federal agencies spell the city's name with two words.
Blaine, formerly known as Blaine's Crossroads, is a city in Grainger County, Tennessee, United States, and a suburb of neighboring Knoxville. It is part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,084 at the 2020 census.
Loudon is a city in and the county seat of Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 6,001 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in East Tennessee, southwest of Knoxville, on the Tennessee River. Fort Loudoun, the colonial era fort for which the city was named, is located several miles to the south in Monroe County.
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about 25 miles (40 km) west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak Ridge's nicknames include the Atomic City, the Secret City, and the City Behind a Fence.
Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city lies within the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachians, along Cherokee Lake on the Holston River. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States census. It is the principal city of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen, and Jefferson counties. The Morristown metropolitan area is also part of the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville Combined Statistical Area.
Interstate 640 (I-640) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in Knoxville, Tennessee. It serves as a bypass for I-40 around Downtown Knoxville and is also an alternative route for traffic passing between I-40 and I-75. All trucks carrying hazardous cargo through Knoxville are required to use I-640. It has a total length of 10.80 miles (17.38 km) and runs approximately three miles (4.8 km) north of downtown through the northern neighborhoods of Knoxville.
Melton Hill Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Clinch River just south of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1960s to extend the Tennessee Valley's continuous navigation channel up the Clinch as far as Clinton and to increase TVA's overall power-generating capacity. The dam impounds the 5,470-acre (2,210 ha) Melton Hill Lake, and is the only TVA tributary dam serviced by a navigation lock. The dam and associated infrastructure were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Powell, formerly known as Powell Station, is a census-designated place in Knox County, Tennessee. The area is located in the Emory Road corridor, just north of Knoxville, southeast of Clinton, and east of Oak Ridge. It had a population of 13,802 during the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
U.S. Route 25W (US 25W) is the western branch of US 25 from Newport, Tennessee, where US 25 splits into US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin.
State Route 9 (SR 9) is a west-to-east state highway in the U.S. state of Tennessee that is 131.33 miles (211.36 km) long. It begins in Campbell County and ends in Cocke County. SR 9 is little-known by the general public by this designation as it is overlain by U.S. Route 25W and U.S. Route 25 east of Newport; the "9" designation is seen on mileposts. The entire route is located in East Tennessee. Despite running concurrent with a North-South US Route, Route 9 is signed as east-west.
Strawberry Plains is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson, Knox, and Sevier counties in the State of Tennessee, United States. Before 2010, it was treated by the United States Census Bureau as a census county division. It is included in both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area.
State Route 71 is a north–south state highway in Tennessee. For most of the length it is a "hidden" route, as it coincides with US 441 in all but a short section in Knoxville. The road begins at the North Carolina state line in Sevier County within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Newfound Gap and ends at an intersection with US 25W, SR 116, and SR 9 (hidden) in Rocky Top. Along its length SR 71 passes through Sevier County, a small portion of Blount County, Knox County, Anderson County, and in and out of Campbell County. Despite being signed on Hall of Fame Parkway in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Knox County TDOT map ignores SR 71 while SR 33 has a concurrency with US 441.
Interstate 75 (I-75) in the US state of Tennessee runs from Chattanooga to Jellico by way of Knoxville. I-75 enters the East Tennessee region from Georgia, following the Tennessee Valley all the way through Knoxville to near Rocky Top, then climbs into the Cumberland Mountains before crossing over into Kentucky at Jellico.
North Knoxville is the section of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, that lies north of the city's downtown area. It is concentrated around Broadway (US-441), Clinton Highway (US-25W), Tazewell Pike (TN-331), Washington Pike, and adjacent roads, and includes the neighborhoods of Fountain City, Inskip-Norwood, Oakwood-Lincoln Park, Old North Knoxville, Fourth and Gill, North Hills, and Whittle Springs. North Knoxville is bisected by Sharp's Ridge, a 7-mile (11 km) elongate ridge that rises prominently above the surrounding terrain.
State Route 92 is a state highway in East Tennessee with both four lane and two lane sections.