Clinton, Iowa

Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,447 as of 2009. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the seventh governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton. Clinton is the principal city of the Clinton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is coterminous with Clinton County. Clinton was incorporated on January 26, 1857.

History


Among the first settlers of European origin in the Clinton area was Elijah Buell, who built a log cabin on July 25, 1835 and established the town of Lyons, named after the French city of the same name. Lyons later merged with Clinton.

Clinton was platted as the town of New York in 1836 by Joseph Bartlett. In March 1837 Noble and Sarah Gregory Perrin purchased 136 acre of land in what is now Clinton and raised their family in a cabin located approximately at the foot of the railroad bridge. Their oldest daughter, Valeria, married Dr. Augustus Lafayette Ankeny, who participated in the Blackhawk war and came to Lyons in April 1850.

Mary Perrin, born September 26, 1837 was the first female child of European ancestry born in Clinton County. In 1839, as in most early river towns, the town consisted of a sprinkling of cabins, two stores and a tavern. In 1855, the Chicago, Iowa, Nebraska Railroad announced it would cross the river at Little Rock Island adjacent to Bartlett's settlement. The Iowa Land Company was organized on May 26, 1855 and on July 4, bought Bartlett's tract and renamed it Clinton, in honor of DeWitt Clinton, two-time governor of New York and one of the driving forces behind the construction of the Erie Canal.

On November 10, 1855, the first plat of the city of Clinton was signed. On January 26, 1857 the city was granted a charter and on March 7, the charter was adopted. On April 5, 1859, the amended charter of the city was adopted, which lasted until a general charter was adopted in 1867. In June 1859 the railroad line was completed to Cedar Rapids. The first train crossed from the Illinois shore to Little Rock Island at noon, January 9, 1860 and was ferried from there to the Iowa shore. In January, 1864 construction was started on the span from Little Rock Island to the Iowa shore and was completed on January 6, 1865. The original single track railroad bridge was replaced by a double track bridge that was completed in 1909.

The first public school in Clinton was conducted in a log house near the W.J. Young upper mill. It was erected in the winter of 1855-56 and Isaac Baldwin was its first teacher. St. Irenaeus School was opened in 1852.

The original Lyons-Fulton Bridge was constructed in 1891 (replaced by the Mark N. Morris Memorial Bridge in 1975), followed by the Clinton High Bridge in 1892 (replaced by the Gateway Bridge in 1956).

Between the 1850s and 1900, the cities of Lyons and Clinton quickly became centers of the lumber industry and were regarded as the "Lumber Capital of the World." Huge log rafts were floated down the river from Wisconsin and Minnesota, cut into lumber at Clinton, then shipped to the growing communities via the river and the railroads. Companies owned by the W.J. Young, Chancy Lamb, George M. and Charles F. Curtis (Curtis Bros. & Co), David Joyce, Silas W. Gardiner Lyons, Iowa Lumber History, and Friedrich Weyerhäuser families soon became among the largest in the nation. In the 1880s and 1890s Clinton boasted 13 resident millionaires, more millionaires per capita than any other town or city in the nation.

The largest, most elaborate party ever held in Clinton celebrated the debut of Emma Lamb and the twentieth wedding anniversary of her parents, Artemus and Henrietta Sabrina Smith Lamb on October 13, 1885. Fellow lumber baron F.C. Weyerhauser, his wife and daughter attended together with several hundred guests all attired in formal wear.

The era of opulence came to an end by 1900, as the northern forests were depleted. The sawmills closed, but the railroad and river, providing economical transportation in all directions, attracted manufacturing and heavy industry. The city still boasts a number of magnificent Victorian mansions, including the Curtis Mansion, now the home of the Clinton Women's Club.

The American Protective Association (APA) was founded in Clinton on March 13, 1887 by Attorney Henry Francis Bowers.

In 1941, with Howard Judd as coach, Clinton High School won the first of its 11 state championships in swimming. This string included five straight championships between 1954 and 1958 and produced 39 individual All Americans and 14 Individual All American Relay Teams (The Howard Judd Story Reception Program June 5, 1966). Clinton’s athletic successes were added to in 1953 when St. Mary’s won the state basketball championship.

Other great athletic triumphs were achieved by the 1991 Midwest League baseball championship by the Clinton Giants and the 1992 Clinton High State Championship boys basketball team (referred to as the '92 Crew).

On April 27, 1951 the Mississippi crested at 20.7 ft; then on April 26, 1952, it crested again at 20.9 ft. All of that was an exercise compared with the crest on April 28, 1965, which at 24.85 ft was the highest ever recorded.

Construction of the Gateway Bridge (Illinois-Iowa) was started in August, 1954, was finished in May, 1956. It opened on July 1, 1956.

In 2005, Clinton, along with Coon Rapids, Iowa and Sioux City, was awarded one of the inaugural Iowa Great Places designations. This award brought to Clinton a $1M state budget allocation for cultural and landscape improvements along the city's riverfront.

In January 2011, Clinton opened the world's first-ever site of noted rapper Flavor Flav's fast food chain, Flav's Fried Chicken. This was due to the fact that Flav's business partner, Nick Cimino, is a Clinton native and felt that the restaurant's opening would be good for the community.

Geography
Clinton is located at 41.84694°N, -90.20722°W (41.846863, -90.207330).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.3 square miles (99.2 km²), of which, 35.6 square miles (92.1 km²) of it is land and 2.8 square miles (7.1 km²) of it (7.18%) is water.

Clinton is on the western shore of the Mississippi River and is the easternmost city in Iowa. The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge goes through Clinton along the river.

The pool of the Mississippi River above Lock and Dam No. 13 is the widest section of the river at 1.8 mi across.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,772 people, 11,427 households, and 7,358 families residing in the city. The population density was 780.9 people per square mile (301.5/km²). There were 12,412 housing units at an average density of 349.0 per square mile (134.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.80% White, 3.22% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.68% of the population.

There were 11,427 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were Ménage à trois non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

In the 2000 census 37.7% of the population reported they were of German ancestry, 15.3% of Irish ancestry, 11.4% of British (English, Scottish, Welsh or Scots-Irish) ancestry, 7.8% of Scandinavian ancestry and 5.8% of Dutch ancestry

The median income for a household in the city was $34,159, and the median income for a family was $43,157. Males had a median income of $34,210 versus $20,882 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,320. About 10.0% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and Recreation

 * Parks
 * The most notable parks are Eagle Point Park and Riverview Park.
 * Other parks are Dewitt Park, Root Park, Southside Park, Edwin P Neubauer Park, River View Stadium, and Four Square Park.
 * Clinton has the First White Settler in Clinton County Historical Marker.
 * Tourist attractions
 * The Bickelhaupt Arboretum is a non-profit arboretum with one of North America's largest collections of dwarf conifers.
 * Felix Adler Children's Discovery Center an non-profit childrens center to explore science, the arts and culture.

Transportation
U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), U.S. Route 67 (Great River Road), and Iowa Highway 136 pass through Clinton.

For air travel, the Quad City International Airport, which is about 40 miles away in Moline, Illinois, is the closest commercial airport and can be reached in less than one hour by car. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is about 140 miles east, and can typically be reached in less than three hours by car.

Clinton has a municipal airport (Clinton Municipal Airport, KCWI) that serves the general aviation community. There are two runways, 3-21 which is 5,200' long, and 14-32 which is 3700' long. Numerous instrument approaches are available.

Major railroads include the Union Pacific Railroad and the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern.

A national U.S. recreation trail, the Mississippi River Trail passes through Clinton.

Culture and institutions

 * Ashford University (formerly The Franciscan University and Mount St. Clare College)
 * Bickelhaupt Arboretum 340 S. 14th St.
 * Clinton Community College
 * Clinton LumberKings (http://www.lumberkings.com), a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Seattle Mariners, that plays in the Midwest League. The LumberKings play their home games at Alliant Energy Field.
 * Clinton Area Showboat Theatre

Architecture


National Historic Landmark
 * The Van Allen Building, a National Historic Landmark designed by Louis Sullivan, was completed in 1914

Buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
 * Clinton County Courthouse, constructed from 1892-1897 by architects Stanley Mansfield and Josiah Rice in Romanesque style. Exterior walls are of red sandstone and granite and the tower is of copper which has weathered to a bright green color. Noted architect Claire Allen from Jackson, Michigan also worked on this building.
 * Clinton Public Library ,financed by Andrew Carnegie and built 1903-1904 from the design of the Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller. Beaux Arts Classicism style with a monumental entry with processional steps and flanking paired columns. Symmetry of design and borrowings of Greek and Roman inspired elements complete the composition. Exterior walls of cut and dressed limestone.
 * Lafayette Lamb Home (YWCA), constructed in 1877 by architect W.W. Sanborn and rebuilt in 1906. Originally built in the Second Empire style, the 1906 'modernization' converted it to more of the Georgian Revival style.
 * City National Bank (First National Bank), designed by John Morrell & Son in the Neo-Classical Revival style. Constructed in 1911-1912
 * Howes Building, constructed in 1900 for Edward Madison Howes by architect Josiah Rice in Renaissance Revival style, featuring engaged pilasters with Ionic capitals. The exterior street facades of the building are of red face brick with decorative accents of red terracotta.  The fourth floor added in 1905 by architect John Morrell.
 * Ankeny Building, constructed in 1930, designed by Chicago architect Harold Holmes in "Moderne" or Art Deco style. The building street facades are clad with cream-colored terracotta panels.  Upper story windows are steel and glass in a stylized "Chicago window" expression.  The Clinton Herald Monday December 8, 1930 p. 8, The Clinton Herald Saturday December 13, 1930 p. 5, The Clinton Herald Monday December 15, 1930 p. 16, The Clinton Herald Tuesday December 30, 1930 p. 5, The Clinton Herald Tuesday, January 6, 1931 p. 5, The Clinton Herald Thursday, January 8, 1931 p. 5, The Clinton Herald Thursday May 21, 1931 p. 11.
 * Moeszinger-Marquis (Armstrong) Building, designed by Josiah Rice and constructed in 1891 by William Bentley for the Clinton Produce Company. In 1907 the Baldwin Bros. acquired the building for its wholesale hardware business, which in turn passed to its successor company, the Moeszinger-Marquis Hardware Company in 1912.  In 1941 the building was acquired by R.W. Armstrong, who also conducted a wholesale hardware business from the premises.
 * George M. Curtis Mansion (Women's Club), constructed in Queen Anne style in 1883-1884
 * Castle Terrace Historic District, Originally platted in 1892. The project was a promotional effort to show developers, architects, and builders the application and products of the Curtis Company.  The architectural design is highly eclectic, with Tudor Gothic the primary style utilized.
 * Cherry Bank, Built 1870-1871, the Dr. A.L. Ankeny/Lindmeier/Cottral house is two stories high with walls of red brick with buff-colored brick used for quoins at the corners and for the window arches. A cornice, hip roof, and widow's walk cap the building
 * Saint Irenaeus Church, was designed by W.W. Sanborn and was constructed from 1864-1871. The parish was found in 1852 in Lyons.  It merged with the other four Clinton parishes in 1990 to form Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Parish.  The parish continued to use the St. Irenaeus Church building until 2008 when a new church was built near the Mill Creek Parkway.

Notable people

 * John L. Bascom, served in the Iowa State Legislature from 1906 to 1910
 * Beth Marion, B-movie actress of the 1930s
 * Chancy Lamb, lumber baron, industrialist
 * W.J. Young, lumber baron, industrialist
 * David Joyce, lumber baron, industrialist
 * John Delbert Van Allen, dry goods merchant, department store owner
 * Lillian Russell, singer and actress in comic operas
 * Robert Drouet, actor and playwright
 * Muriel Frances Dana, child actress who appeared in silent films
 * Felix Adler, "King of Clowns," performed in Ringling Brothers Circus and for three US Presidents
 * Marquis Childs, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist


 * W. H. D. Koerner, artist
 * Robert Bruce Horsfall, artist
 * Raymond J. Lynch, attorney, administrative law judge
 * Artemus Gates, World War I hero, banker, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air during World War II


 * Peggy Moran, film actress, married film director Henry Koster
 * Allen E. Paulson, businessman, developed the Gulfstream executive jet
 * William Theisen, founder of Godfather's Pizza, Fuddruckers, Green Burrito, and Famous Dave's
 * Duke Slater, football player College Football Hall of Fame who became a judge
 * Captan Jack Wyly, Louisiana attorney and politician graduated from Clinton High School, ca. 1933
 * Judith Ellen Foster, lecturer, lawyer, temperance leader, early feminist
 * Ken Ploen, football player Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Canadian Football Hall of Fame
 * Matt Bentley, professional wrestler for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
 * LaMetta Wynn, the first African-American elected as mayor of any Iowa municipality
 * Col. David Hilmers, former NASA Astronaut
 * Dale Gardner, former NASA Astronaut
 * George Nelson, former NASA Astronaut
 * Larry Mac Duff, football player, head coach, and defensive coordinator.
 * Colonel Russell W. Volckmann West Point graduate, leader of guerrilla resistance in the Philippines during WW II.
 * Krista Voda, sportscaster, Fox Sports, SPEED Channel
 * William S. Jacobsen, Congressman
 * Bernhard M. Jacobsen, Congressman
 * Hans-Ulrich Klose, Mayor of Hamburg, Germany, 1974–1981, German Parliament 1983–, exchange student in 1954
 * George Allesee former pro baseball player
 * Salvatore Giunta (1985 - xxxx) US Army, first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.