Clinton, Oklahoma | |
|---|---|
| Motto: "Hub City of Western Oklahoma" | |
 Location of Clinton, Oklahoma | |
| Coordinates:35°30′24″N98°58′14″W / 35.50667°N 98.97056°W /35.50667; -98.97056 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| Counties | Custer,Washita |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council / Manager |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.97 sq mi (25.81 km2) |
| • Land | 9.95 sq mi (25.76 km2) |
| • Water | 0.019 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,568 ft (478 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 8,521 |
| • Density | 856.6/sq mi (330.75/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 73601 |
| Area code | 580 |
| FIPS code | 40-15400[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2409485[2] |
| Website | clintonok.gov |
Clinton is a city inCuster andWashita counties in theU.S. state ofOklahoma. The population was 8,521 at the time of the2020 census.[4]
The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E. Blake, decided to locate a town in theWashita 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.
Congressional approval for the sale was granted in 1902 and Washita Junction quickly developed.[5] The first businesses were the office of theCuster County Chronicle newspaper and the First National Bank building. When a post office was started, the postal department would not accept the name of Washita Junction; so the town was named for JudgeClinton F. Irwin.
Early on, Clinton was well-served by railroads: theKansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway—which had its depot west of downtown—and both theSt. Louis–San Francisco Railway and theChicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad—which had their combined depot east of downtown.[6] In 1909 a group of Clinton businessmen formed the Clinton Street Railway, which ran straight between the two depots particularly to service transferring passengers.[6] But the line’s single gas-powered railcar proved problematic, and service stopped by 1911.[6] In 1912 the line was electrified and restarted, while the new owners talked of extending the tracks north to the county seat ofArapaho, and perhaps even further toTaloga.[6] However, a trolley’s collision in 1914 with an SLSF switch engine, killing one passenger and injuring others, caused the line to dissolve under lawsuits, and the rails were dug up and salvaged by 1915 to pay legal fees.[6]
Clinton particularly benefited from the presence ofU.S. Highway 66. Like most other cities and towns on Route 66, Clinton was home of tourist businesses including several restaurants,cafés,motels andfilling stations. The Pop Hicks Restaurant was once the longest running restaurant on Route 66. It opened in 1936 and closed after a fire in 1999. TheU.S. Highway 66 Association, founded 1927 inTulsa, Oklahoma, curtailed its activity whenWorld War II rationing of rubber and fuel disrupted leisure travel. After the war, Jack and Gladys Cutberth revived the organization in Clinton, where it promoted the "Main Street of America" from 1947 until it disbanded in the 1980s.[7] Dr.Walter S. Mason Jr. operated aBest Western motel (1964–2003) which welcomedElvis Presley as an occasional guest in the 1960s.[8]
Today, cross-country traffic passes Clinton to the south onInterstate 40, which bypassed the city in 1970.[7] Clinton remains a popular tourist stop as one of the largestRoute 66 cities betweenOklahoma City andAmarillo, Texas. Much of the old U.S. 66 route that passed through the city is now designated as an I-40 business loop; the town became home to the first state sponsoredRoute 66 Museum in the nation.[9]
In 1942, the federal government built a naval airfield at nearby Burns Flat and named it Naval Air Station Clinton. During theWorld War II period, the population of Clinton grew to nearly 7,000 residents. In 1949, Naval Air Station Clinton was deactivated and the airfield was deeded to the City of Clinton, specifying that the land could be recaptured in case of national emergencies. Later, the government leased the site back and used it asClinton-Sherman Air Force Base a bomber base supporting 4123rd Strategic Wing, then the70th Bombardment Wing, Heavy of theStrategic Air Command (SAC), operatingB-52 Stratofortress andKC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. Purchasing more land, the site soon expanded to more than 3,500 acres (14 km2), where both theU.S. Air Force and theU.S. Navy utilized the airfield for both operational and training purposes. When military operations were de-emphasized, the Clinton-Sherman base was designated for closure in 1969. The entire complex was deeded to the City of Clinton in 1971 and three years later became theClinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark.
Clinton is also home to theClinton Daily News, a five-daydaily newspaper edited by Sean Stephens which has a circulation of 4,500.[10] The newspaper has been published continuously from its inception in 1927 to the current day.[11]
Clinton is located on historicU.S. Route 66, which is nowInterstate 40.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23.2 km2), of which 8.9 square miles (23.1 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (0.22%) is water.
According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Clinton has ahumid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Clinton was 112 °F (44.4 °C) on July 19, 2022, while the coldest temperature recorded was −6 °F (−21.1 °C) onFebruary 15, 2021.[12]
| Climate data for Clinton, Oklahoma, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1945–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) | 91 (33) | 94 (34) | 99 (37) | 106 (41) | 110 (43) | 112 (44) | 111 (44) | 108 (42) | 100 (38) | 92 (33) | 79 (26) | 112 (44) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 72.9 (22.7) | 76.4 (24.7) | 83.4 (28.6) | 89.0 (31.7) | 96.4 (35.8) | 101.4 (38.6) | 105.1 (40.6) | 104.3 (40.2) | 98.5 (36.9) | 90.6 (32.6) | 79.5 (26.4) | 71.3 (21.8) | 105.2 (40.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 51.1 (10.6) | 55.2 (12.9) | 64.7 (18.2) | 73.8 (23.2) | 81.8 (27.7) | 90.6 (32.6) | 95.2 (35.1) | 94.3 (34.6) | 86.4 (30.2) | 74.8 (23.8) | 61.4 (16.3) | 51.2 (10.7) | 73.4 (23.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 38.1 (3.4) | 41.9 (5.5) | 51.3 (10.7) | 59.6 (15.3) | 69.1 (20.6) | 78.3 (25.7) | 82.8 (28.2) | 81.5 (27.5) | 73.9 (23.3) | 61.5 (16.4) | 48.9 (9.4) | 39.2 (4.0) | 60.5 (15.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 28.7 (−1.8) | 37.9 (3.3) | 45.4 (7.4) | 56.3 (13.5) | 66.0 (18.9) | 70.3 (21.3) | 68.7 (20.4) | 61.5 (16.4) | 48.2 (9.0) | 36.4 (2.4) | 27.2 (−2.7) | 47.6 (8.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 11.9 (−11.2) | 15.8 (−9.0) | 21.6 (−5.8) | 31.0 (−0.6) | 42.7 (5.9) | 56.6 (13.7) | 62.4 (16.9) | 61.1 (16.2) | 49.6 (9.8) | 32.8 (0.4) | 21.9 (−5.6) | 12.7 (−10.7) | 7.0 (−13.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −4 (−20) | −6 (−21) | 1 (−17) | 20 (−7) | 26 (−3) | 45 (7) | 53 (12) | 53 (12) | 38 (3) | 20 (−7) | 11 (−12) | 0 (−18) | −6 (−21) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.92 (23) | 1.23 (31) | 2.68 (68) | 2.63 (67) | 3.76 (96) | 3.63 (92) | 2.51 (64) | 4.16 (106) | 3.98 (101) | 2.28 (58) | 1.77 (45) | 1.46 (37) | 31.01 (788) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.6 (6.6) | 2.0 (5.1) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | trace | 0.4 (1.0) | 1.7 (4.3) | 7.2 (18.3) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 72.5 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 4.1 |
| Source 1: NOAA (average snow/snow days 1981-2010)[13][14] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[12] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 2,781 | — | |
| 1920 | 2,596 | −6.7% | |
| 1930 | 7,512 | 189.4% | |
| 1940 | 6,736 | −10.3% | |
| 1950 | 7,555 | 12.2% | |
| 1960 | 9,617 | 27.3% | |
| 1970 | 10,359 | 7.7% | |
| 1980 | 9,730 | −6.1% | |
| 1990 | 9,248 | −5.0% | |
| 2000 | 8,833 | −4.5% | |
| 2010 | 9,033 | 2.3% | |
| 2020 | 8,521 | −5.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[15] | |||
As of thecensus[3] of 2015, The population density was 989.1 inhabitants per square mile (381.9/km2). There were 3,818 housing units at an average density of 427.5 per square mile (165.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 52.2%White, 3.2%African American, 3.4%Native American, 2.4%Asian, 0.07%Pacific Islander, 13.62% fromother races, and 5.1% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 34.8% of the population.
There were 3,331 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% weremarried couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,051, and the median income for a family was $32,242. Males had a median income of $24,588 versus $18,596 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $14,606. About 14.6% of families and 18.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
Automotive manufacturer SportChassis, a maker of customized tow rigs, has its global headquarters in Clinton.[16]
TheClinton Regional Airport was the site of the first crash of aC-5 Galaxy (68-0227) on September 27, 1974.[17]
Its school district isClinton Public Schools.[19][20]
Clinton has three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school within the public school system. There is also an alternative school that is part of the public school system.
Clinton is known for its high school football team, the "Red Tornadoes". The Red Tornadoes have won 17 state championships (1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1978, 1982, 1984, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2021)[21] which ranks currently second in the state of Oklahoma behindAda. The Red Tornado football program currently ranks first in the state in all-time wins. Along with football, Clinton excels at a number of other sports. Other school sports include boys' and girls' basketball (the "Lady Red Tornadoes" or "Lady Reds"), baseball, girls' softball, wrestling, tennis, soccer, girls' volleyball, and track and field. Clinton's wrestling team earned its first trip to a dual state championship final in 2015; it would lose to longtime rival Tuttle Tigers. They returned to the dual state championship final in 2017 where they lost to Tuttle, again. The Lady Red Tornadoes soccer team won the State Championship in 2017 under the leadership of Coach Eugene Jefferson.
Team colors are maroon and gold and the school mascot is an anthropomorphic tornado named "Tony."
Clinton hostedMinor league baseball. TheClinton Bulldogs played as members of theClass D levelOklahoma State League in 1922 and 1923.[22][23]
Municipalities and communities ofCuster County, Oklahoma,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofWashita County, Oklahoma,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
