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Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 23,347 at the 2000 census.
History
Clinton, founded in 1823 was originally known as Mount Salus. Mount Salus was also the name of the home of Walter Leake, third governor of Mississippi, which was located in Clinton and built in 1812. It is supposedly the first brick house built in the United States. In 1828, the name was changed from Mount Salus to Clinton in honor of Dewitt Clinton, the former governor of New York.
The first road through Mount Salus/Clinton was the Natchez Trace. Currently Clinton has 3 major highways that cut through the city, U.S. Highway 80, U.S. Interstate 20 and the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Mississippi College, which is located in Clinton, is the oldest college in the state of Mississippi, founded January 24, 1826. It was also the first coeducational college in the United States to grant a degree to a woman.
Confederate forces, as well as Union troops--both under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and General Sherman--briefly occupied Clinton during the U.S. Civil War on the way to the Battle of Vicksburg in May 1863.
In September 1875, the Clinton Riot occurred in downtown Clinton during a political rally of about 3000 people. The riot was racially and politically motivated, related to the contemporary reconstruction movement under the Republican led U.S. government. There were approximately 50 people killed, mostly African-American, and all Republican. The lack of response from the U.S. government in retaliation signaled the beginning of the end of reconstruction.
During World War II, Camp Clinton was established, a German POW camp south of town which housed about 3,000 German soldiers. Most of the prisoners were from the Afrika Korps. Of the 40 German generals captured in WWII, 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 flood prevention.
Clinton, the smallest city to ever host a Fortune 500 company, was the headquarters for Worldcom in the mid-1990's to late 2002. After its bankruptcy due to the largest accounting scandal in U.S. history and fraud-related convictions of Bernard Ebbers, CEO and Scott Sullivan, CFO, it changed its name to MCI and moved its Corporate Headquarters location to Ashburn, Virginia. MCI and SkyTel still maintain a presence in Clinton.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 62.4 km² (24.1 mi²). 61.7 km² (23.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.00%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,347 people, 8,328 households, and 6,079 families residing in the city. The population density was 378.1/km² (979.2/mi²). There were 8,899 housing units at an average density of 144.1/km² (373.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.92% White, 22.53% African American, 0.10% Native American, 1.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
There were 8,328 households out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,092, and the median income for a family was $53,482. Males had a median income of $38,194 versus $27,458 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,586. About 5.7% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
School District
Clinton is regularly ranked as one of the top public school districts in Mississippi, with each school's facilities receiving a Level Five (Five A) rating (highest). In fulfilling desegregation requirements, the district has implemented a unique setup in which every student attends each school within the district.
Clinton High School (Grades 10-12)
Sumner Hill School (Grade 9) - historically an African American high school
Clinton Junior High School (Grades 7-8)
Lovett Elementary (Grade 6) - historically an African American elementary school
Eastside Elementary (Grades 4-5)
Northside Elementary (Grades 2-3)
Clinton Park Elementary (Grades K-1)
Clinton High School's athletics teams are known as the Arrows.
Famous People from Clinton, Mississippi
- Mandy Ashford, Musician and Model
- Nevada Barr, Writer
- Lance Bass, Member of *NSync
- Jeff Brantley, Former Major League Basetball Player
- George Dale, Insurance Commissioner
- Ted DiBiase, Professional Wrestler
- Meredith Edwards, Country Music Singer
- Bernard Ebbers - Worldcom CEO
- Shelly Fairchild
- Marty Frankel
- Barry Hannah, Writer
- Mark Childress
External links
"Clinton, Mississippi"