Clinton (pronounced /ˈklɪntən/, locally /ˈklɪnən/) is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,091 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton was first settled by Scots-Irish immigrants two decades before the American Revolutionary War. It incorporated as a town in 1852, and was named after Henry Clinton Young, a lawyer from Laurens, who helped lay out the first streets.
A few of the employees in the Clinton Mills, going home from work. December 1908. Photographed by Lewis Hine.
Additional information
Clinton is also home of Presbyterian College and Thornwell or Thornwell Home. Both institutions were founded by Presbyterian minister and philanthropist William Plumber Jacobs while he was Minister at First Presbyterian Church of Clinton. Clinton is also noted for its very small-town feel and local fare. Notable restaurants include Steamers, Whiteford's Drive-In and Hickory Hills Bar-B-Que Buffet. Many Clinton residents maintain the tradition of "chewing the fat" at the misnomeric Study Club. The well-maintained railroad tracks and antiquated depot are located in the heart of the town and remind visitors of former times.
Trivia
Three Major League Baseball players were born in Clinton...Chick Galloway (1896), Charlie Wilson (1905), and Johnny Riddle (1905).
Three Major League Baseball players died in Clinton...Chick Galloway (1969), Cal Cooper (1994), and Claude Crocker (2002).
Home of WPCC, a radio station that broadcasts local, regional, and national sports programs
Clinton In Pictures:
A row of houses of the cotton mill people. Lydia Mills, Clinton, S.C. Witness, Sara R. Hine. Dec. 2, 1908. L.W.H. Location: Clinton, South Carolina.
View of Clinton Mills (S.C.) Superintendent would not allow me to take photos in mill. Many youngsters employed. See photos Nos. 359 and 375. Dec. 2, 1908. Witness, Sara R. Hine. Location: Clinton, South Carolina / Photo by Lewis W. Hine.
Grace Harper (Looked 10 years old). Works in Lydia Mills, Clinton, S.C. Mother said she is very good hand at spinning. Been at it 3 years. Runs 4 and 5 sides, about 50 cents a day. Little sister Lettie helps. Mother said "she is learnin'." Looked 7 years old. Dec.
A few of the youngsters employed in Clinton Mills (S.C.) Going home from work. Location: Clinton, South Carolina.
The Clinton Commercial Historic District is a collection of thirty-seven contributing properties centrally located in Clinton. The district is comprised of late nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings associated with the commercial life of the city. Commercial buildings are predominant, but the district also contains two bank buildings; a five-section warehouse; a former city hall; a large, industrial building; a Masonic temple; and a small, landscaped park. The district is locally significant as a tangible record of the period of Clinton’s greatest commercial growth from the 1870s to the 1930s. Buildings in the district display a variety of architectural features, including ornamental brickwork of the Victorian era, pressed-metal cornices and ceilings of the early twentieth century, and geometric designs of the Art Moderne style. The city of Clinton was founded in 1852 on the Laurens Railroad, which was then under construction. In September of that year, twenty-eight lots were sold and the town soon developed into a trading center for the surrounding agricultural area. The name Clinton was chosen to honor Henry Clinton Young of Laurens, who was active in the movement to construct the railroad. Listed in the National Register November 15, 1984.
L. H. Davidson Store, 204 W. Main St.(Constructed: ca. 1891)
J. W. Copeland Building, 100-102 W. Main St.(Constructed: ca. 1894)
J. Isaac Copeland and Bros. Store, 210 N. Broad St.(Constructed: ca. 1910)
The Bee Hive Dept. Store, 120-122 Musgrove St.(Constructed: ca. 1910)
110-126 Musgrove St.
Briggs Block, 100-104 Musgrove St.(Constructed: ca. 1896)
Jacobs and Co. Building, 123-127 E. Main St.(Constructed: ca. 1914)
Confederate Monument(Erected: 1910)
Duncan's Creek Presbyterian Church,
(Old Rock Church) Duncan’s Creek Presbyterian Church, built ca. 1842, is one of the earliest examples of rural church architecture in the upper part of the state. Its unadorned simplicity and solid stone construction are characteristic of buildings erected by early Scotch-Irish settlers in the Southeast. A simple rectangular building constructed of irregular stones, the church stands as a reminder of mid-nineteenth century rustic church architecture. The gable end is the main entrance façade and is centered with double doors flanked by two narrow windows at a slightly higher level. Its simplicity, uncomplicated symmetry, and fine stone masonry are features that make it a valuable record of upcountry rural architecture. One of the few changes made in the church was the removal of the original rear slave gallery in the first third of the twentieth century. Many churches in Laurens County are “daughters” of this old church as members of its congregation left to establish new churches in neighboring areas. The church is situated on a wooded site and is flanked by a cemetery containing carved stone markers of both Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers. The earliest grave dates from 1776. Listed in the National Register November 15, 1973.
Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District
President's House, 512 Broad St.-Presbyterian College(Constructed: ca. 1920 Style: Georgian Revival)
Smyth Hall-Presbyterian College(Constructed: 1924 Style: Georgian Revival)
Laurens Hall-Presbyterian College(Constructed: 1908 Style: Georgian Revival)
Bell Tower-Presbyterian College
Neville Hall-Presbyterian College(Constructed: 1907 Style: Georgian Revival)
Leroy Springs Gymnasium-Presbyterian College(Constructed: 1924)
Alumni Hall (Doyle Infirmary)-Presbyterian College(Constructed: ca. 1890)
Spencer Dormitory-Presbyterian College(Constructed: 1912 Style: Georgian Revival)
Jacobs Hall-Presbyterian College(Constructed: 1915 Style: Georgian Revival)
Faculty House, 104 Calhoun St.-Presbyterian College
Faculty House, 106 Calhoun St.-Presbyterian College
Faculty House, 108 Calhoun St.-Presbyterian College
President's House-Thornwell School(Constructed: ca. 1925)
Nellie Scott Library-Thornwell School(Constructed: ca. 1890)
Home of Peace-Thornwell School(Constructed: ca. 1875)
Memorial Hall-Thornwell School
Technical School-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1892)
Eldridge Fowler Cottage-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1905)
Children's Gift Academy-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1895)
Silliman Cottage-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1907)
Anita Cottage-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1899)
Virginia Home-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1898)
Quattlebaum Rose Garden-Thornwell School
Georgia Beaty Cottage-Thornwell School(Constructed: ca. 1910)
Mayes Baby Cottage-Thornwell School(Constructed: 1924)
The Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District comprises the historic cores of Presbyterian College and the Thornwell Home and School for Children, together with the adjacent residential streets. There are a total of fifty-two buildings and structures within the district. Although the oldest building in the district dates from ca. 1850, the majority of the buildings were constructed in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, with the emergence of the college and the orphanage. Presbyterian College is unified around the central mall, according to the campus plan drawn in 1912 by the New York City landscape engineer Charles W. Leavitt, Jr. This plan has governed the development of the college; the newer, non-historic buildings on campus are thus rendered more compatible with the old. Noted Columbia architect Charles Coker Wilson designed Neville Hall, a campus building. Most of the Presbyterian College buildings are of the Georgian Revival style and are built of brick. Other styles represented in the district include Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival, Neo-Classical, Queen Anne, and Bungalow. The Thornwell campus is unified by consistency of materials and by scale; stone construction is used throughout the informal campus. The college and the children’s home are historically connected through Dr. William Jacobs, who was responsible for the founding of both institutions. Listed in the National Register March 5, 1982.
External links:
City of Clinton
Thornwell Home
Thornwell
Presbyterian College