Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 9,409 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Anderson County. Clinton is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
The city is situated along the Clinch River, immediately downstream from a point where the southwestward-flowing river bends sharply to the northeast before wrapping around Lost Ridge and continuing again toward the southwest. This section of the river is technically part of Melton Hill Lake, a reservoir created by the impoundment of the Clinch at Melton Hill Dam some 35 miles (56 km) downstream from Clinton. Clinton is located approximately 59 miles (95 km) upstream from the mouth of the Clinch at the Tennessee River.
Clinton is surrounded by a series of long, narrow ridges that represent the western fringe of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Province. Northwest of Clinton is Walden Ridge, the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau.
Market Street
Clinton is centered around the junction of Tennessee State Route 61 and U.S. Route 25W. State Route 61 connects the city to Norris and Andersonville to the northeast and the community of Marlow and the town of Oliver Springs to the southwest, following a natural series of pathways through the mountain terrain. U.S. Route 25W connects the city to Knoxville to the southeast and Lake City and Caryville to the north. Interstate 75 intersects TN-61 north-east of downtown Clinton, as Interstate 75 runs in a northwest direction in the north-east quadrant of Anderson County.
History
The Ritz Theater and Hoskins Drugstore, built in the 1940's under the direction of the War Production Board
Prehistoric Native American habitation was not uncommon throughout the Clinch valley, especially during the Woodland period (1000 B.C. - 1000 A.D.) and the Mississippian period (1000-1550 A.D.). A number of such habitation sites were excavated in the 1930's and 1950's in anticipation of the construction of Norris Dam and Melton Hill Dam, respectively. The Melton Hill excavations uncovered two substantial Woodland period villages along the Clinch at Bull Bluff and Freels Bend, both approximately 20 miles (32 km) downstream from Clinton.
By the time Euro-American explorers and long hunters arrived in the Clinch valley in the mid-18th century, what is now Anderson County was part of a vast stretch of land claimed by the Cherokee. Although the Treaty of Holston, signed in 1791, was intended as a negotiation with the Cherokee to prohibit settlement of the area including what is today Anderson County, the treaty became ineffective as more settlers moved through the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia and North Carolina into Tennessee. The earliest settlers in Anderson County included the Wallace, Gibbs, Freels, Frost and Tunnell families. The flooding of white settlers into the Indian domain was cause for several skirmishes, which eased after the Treaty of Tellico in 1798 (including an origination point for the land to be relinquished from the Cherokee being the Tellico Blockhouse) allowed for greater ease in settling the area.
View of Clinton in 1938
Founded in 1801, the town of Burrville was named in honor of Aaron Burr, first term Vice President under Thomas Jefferson. Land was selected and partitioned for a courthouse, and Burrville was designated as the county seat for the newly formed Anderson County, Tennessee. Anderson County was partitioned from a portion of Grainger County, Tennessee as well as a portion of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801; neighboring Roane County, Tennessee, was also formed from a portion of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801, making Anderson and Roane counties effectively called 'sister counties'.
On November 8, 1809, by act of Tennessee State Legislature, the town of Burrville was renamed because of the disgrace of the Burr-Hamilton duel, which resulted in the death of Alexander Hamilton. The selection of the name "Clinton" was most likely to honor George Clinton or his nephew, DeWitt Clinton. George Clinton was one of Burr's New York political rivals who, along with Alexander Hamilton, destroyed Burr's bid for the governorship of the state of New York after his single-term Vice Presidency. George Clinton succeeded Burr as the second-term Vice President for Thomas Jefferson in 1805 (and also served as James Madison's Vice President, making Clinton the first Vice President to serve under two presidents and the first Vice President to die in office). Because of the political position of George Clinton as Vice President at the time of Burrville's name change, compared to DeWitt Clinton's position as the mayor of New York City, most likely the residents of the town of Burrville would have been more readily identifiable and more honorable toward George Clinton than DeWitt; therefore, it is most likely Clinton was named after George Clinton, barring historical proof.
The Clinton High School Desegregation Controversy
Statues representing the "Clinton Twelve" at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center
In 1956, Clinton gained national attention when segregationists opposed the desegregation of Clinton High School. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, a court order required the desegregation of the high school. Twelve African-American students enrolled in the high school in the fall of 1956. On August 27, 1956, the Clinton Twelve attended classes at Clinton High School for the first time, becoming the first African-Americans to desegregate a state-supported public school in the Southeast. While the first day of classes occurred without incident, pro-segregation forces led by John Kasper and Asa Carter arrived in Clinton the following week and rallied the city's white citizens. Riots broke out in early September, forcing Governor Frank G. Clement to station National Guard units in Clinton throughout September. Sporadic violence and threats continued for the next two years, culminating in the bombing of Clinton High School on October 5, 1958. With an influx of outside aid, however, the school was quickly rebuilt.
Rogers Group Quarry and Asphalt Plant Controversy
In the 1990's, the Rogers Group— a firm specializing in road paving— began a campaign to reactivate an abandoned quarry and build an asphalt plant just east of Clinton near the community of Bethel. The initiative met with opposition from local and environmental groups, who were concerned that the plant would release cancer-causing toxins into nearby residential neighborhoods. Others were concerned about plummeting property values, noise pollution, damage from rock blasting, and environmental damage to Buffalo Creek. The company argued that it would follow stringent environmental and pollution guidelines, retention ponds would limit runoff, and that the site would be surrounded by vegetation. Nevertheless, Anderson County refused to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, and Rogers Group sued the county in 1995.
In December 2006, after Rogers Group's lawsuit had stagnated, the city of Clinton voted to annex the quarry property. On August 20, 2007, the Clinton City Council voted 6-1 to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, paving the way for the plant's construction. In response, a local advocacy group known as Citizens for Safety and Clean Air filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Bethel residents in Anderson County Chancery Court contending that the council's rezoning was unconstitutional and seeking an injunction preventing the council from rezoning the property as an industrial zone.
Noted People
John C. Houk - Member of the United States House of Representatives born here.
The McKameys - Southern Gospel group based in Clinton.
Charles McRae - NFL 1st round draft choice, All-American football tackle (attended University of Tennessee)
John R. Neal - Member of the United States House of Representatives born near here.
Larry Seivers - Two-time All-American wide receiver at the University of Tennessee; drafted into the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks but did not play.
Willie Sievers - Early country music guitarist, member of the Tennessee Ramblers.
Link:
Clinton, Tennessee — official site
Source: Internet
