Clinton, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
City | |
 | |
 Flag | |
| Nickname: Mount Salus (original name) | |
| Motto: You Belong Here | |
 Location inHinds County, Mississippi | |
 Location ofMississippi in the United States | |
| Coordinates:32°21′30″N90°21′20″W / 32.35833°N 90.35556°W /32.35833; -90.35556[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Hinds |
| Founded | 1823 |
| Incorporation | 1824 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council government |
| • Mayor | Will Purdie (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 42.14 sq mi (109.15 km2) |
| • Land | 41.87 sq mi (108.44 km2) |
| • Water | 0.27 sq mi (0.71 km2) |
| Elevation | 335 ft (102 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 28,100 |
| • Density | 671.1/sq mi (259.13/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39056, 39058, 39060 (P.O. boxes) |
| Area codes | 601 and 769 |
| FIPS code[3][4] | 28-14420 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404080[1] |
| Website | www |
Clinton is acity inHinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in theJackson metropolitan area, it is the10th most populous city in Mississippi. The population was 28,100 at the2020 United States census.[5]
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Founded in 1823, Clinton was originally known asMt. Salus, which means "Mountain of health". It was named for the plantation home ofWalter Leake, 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 theUnited States General Land Office at Mount Salus in 1822.[6] The original federal survey in 1822 references a spring called "Swafford's Spring" at the site of the town.[7] In 1828, the city changed its name to Clinton in honor ofDeWitt Clinton, the former governor of New York who led completion of theErie Canal.
The first road through Mount Salus/Clinton was theNatchez Trace, improved from a centuries-old Native American path. Currently Clinton has three major highways that pass through the city: theNatchez Trace Parkway,U.S. Route 80, andInterstate 20.
Mississippi College, 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.[8] Mississippi College is the second oldestBaptist 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 CollegeChoctaws".Hillman College, originally for women, was founded in 1853 as Central Female Institute, supported by the Central Baptist Association.[8] It changed its name in 1891.Mount Hermon Female Seminary, ahistorically black college, was established in 1875 bySarah Ann Dickey.[8] 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 betweenVicksburg andMeridian.[8] Cotton from three surrounding counties was shipped through Clinton and by rail toGrand Gulf on the Mississippi.
During theCivil War,Confederate forces, as well asUnion troops— the latter commanded by generalsUlysses S. Grant andSherman—briefly occupied Clinton on their way to theBattle of Vicksburg in May 1863. Grant had mistakenly believed thatJohn C. Pemberton, aConfederategeneral, would attack him at Clinton. Grant finally took Vicksburg in this campaign.[9]
In September 1875 during the election campaign, a Republican political rally was held in downtown Clinton, where 3,000 people were gathered expecting GovernorAdelbert 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.[8] Among the black victims were schoolteachers, church leaders, and local Republican organizers.[10]
Whites had been attacking black and white Republicans in every election cycle, and that year the paramilitaryRed Shirts arose in the state as a force to intimidate blacks and suppress black voting.[10] 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.
During World War II,Camp Clinton was established as a GermanPOW camp south of town; it housed about 3,000 German soldiers. Most of the prisoners were from theAfrika Korps. Of the 40 German generals captured in the war, Camp Clinton housed 35 of them. The German soldiers provided the labor to build areplica 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 aFortune 500 company, was the headquarters forWorldCom 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 ofBernard Ebbers, CEO, andScott Sullivan, CFO. The company changed its name toMCI and moved its corporate headquarters location toAshburn, Virginia.Verizon, MCI's successor, owns SkyTel (no relation toBell Mobility's Skytel brand). It still occupies the massive former WorldCom compound in Clinton.
OnApril 15, 2011, an EF3 tornado struck the city at about 11:00 am. CDT. It produced damage nearInterstate 20, which included total destruction to the BankPlus building.Malaco Records was destroyed as well. Ten people were injured by the tornado.[11]
According to the2010 United States census, the city has a total area of 42.147 square miles (109.16 km2), of which 41.822 square miles (108.32 km2) is land and 0.325 square miles (0.84 km2) is water.[3][12]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 569 | — | |
| 1900 | 354 | — | |
| 1910 | 767 | 116.7% | |
| 1920 | 669 | −12.8% | |
| 1930 | 912 | 36.3% | |
| 1940 | 916 | 0.4% | |
| 1950 | 2,255 | 146.2% | |
| 1960 | 3,438 | 52.5% | |
| 1970 | 7,289 | 112.0% | |
| 1980 | 14,660 | 101.1% | |
| 1990 | 21,847 | 49.0% | |
| 2000 | 23,347 | 6.9% | |
| 2010 | 25,216 | 8.0% | |
| 2020 | 28,100 | 11.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 14,410 | 51.3% |
| Black or African American | 10,693 | 38.1% |
| Native American | 49 | 0.2% |
| Asian | 1,291 | 4.6% |
| Pacific Islander | 7 | nil% |
| Other/Mixed | 865 | 3.1% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 785 | 2.8% |
Up from 2010's 25,216 people,[15] the city of Clinton had a population of 28,100 people, 9,047 households, and 6,187 families according to the2020 census.[14] 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.
Clinton operates as a code charter form of government, divided into sixWards. The local governing body consists of the mayor, oneAlderman representing each of the six Wards and one Alderman-at-Large whose duty is to represent the entire community.
As of July 1, 2025, Will Purdie is the city's mayor.[16][17]
At one pointWorldCom (nowVerizon) was headquartered in Clinton. In 2003 the company announced that it would move its headquarters toVirginia.[18][19]
Automotive component manufacturerDelphi Corporation operated a plant in Clinton from the early 1970s until its closure in 2009, making cable and wiring connectors.[20] When Delphi closed the plant in late 2009, with the loss of 280 jobs, production moved to Delphi'sWarren, Ohio facility.[20][21]
The city of Clinton's public schools are served by theClinton Public School District, including Clinton Park (Grades Pre-K - 1), Northside (Grades 2nd - 3rd), Eastside (Grades 4 - 5), Lovett (Grade 6), Clinton Jr High (Grades 7 - 8), Sumner Hill (Grade 9) and Clinton High School (Grades 10 through 12 | ALL SCHOOLS ARE IN CLINTON MISSISSIPPI)
Jackson/Hinds Library System operates the Quisenberry Library in Clinton.[22] 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.[23]
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.[24]
TheMississippi Brilla is a soccer team competing inUSL League Two (PDL), the fourth highest league of theAmerican Soccer Pyramid, and playing in the Mid-South Division of the Southern Conference. They play their home games at Traceway Park in the city of Clinton.
Municipalities and communities ofHinds County, Mississippi,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡ This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
