Clinton, Oneida County, New York

History

Part of Coxe's Patent, 6th division, Clinton began in March 1787 when Revolutionary War veterans from Plymouth, Connecticut settled in Clinton. Pioneer Moses Foote brought 7 other families with him to the area. The new inhabitants found good soil, plentiful forests, and friendly Brothertown Indians in southern Kirkland along with Oneida Indians who passed through on trails. Named after New York’s first governor, George Clinton, an uncle of Erie Canal builder, DeWitt Clinton, the village had a gristmill on the Oriskany Creek on College Street the first year and slowly developed as a farming and mercantile center.

In 1793, Presbyterian minister Rev. Samuel Kirkland founded Hamilton-Oneida Academy as a seminary to serve as part of his missionary work with the Oneida tribe. The seminary admitted both white and Oneida boys. Kirkland named it in honor of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy. The Academy became Hamilton College in 1812, making it the third oldest college in New York after Columbia and Union, after it expanded to a four-year college curriculum.

Originally in the Town of Whitestown and then the Town of Paris, Clinton became part of the newly formed Town of Kirkland in 1827, and became an incorporated village in April 1843 with its own board of trustees, officials, employees, and status as a taxing jurisdiction.

Elihu Root, secretary of war and state under presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, was born in a building on the Hamilton College campus and is probably Clinton’s most famous son.

Never a factory town, Clinton did have the Clinton Knitting Company on the site of the Clinton House Apartments on Kirkland Avenue in the first half of the 20th century as well as the Clinton Canning Company to process local vegetables in the late summer and fall.

In business history, in addition to the iron ore industry, world-famous Bristol-Myers Company began in Clinton in 1887 on the second floor over the CVS drug store at 3-5 West Park Row and moved to Syracuse after three years. Both William Bristol and John Myers graduated from Hamilton College.

Past residents of note

Attractions

The Clinton High School, Middle School, and Elementary School are located towards the center of the village, as are the business offices for the district.

The village centers around a park where many community events take place. The Kirkland Art Center hosts many activities throughout the year including the KAC Road Race. Also, a local favorite, the Clinton Cider Mill located on Elm Street produces cider on site each Fall.

The Clinton Arena was home to the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League, which ended play at the arena in 1973. Portions of the movie "Slap Shot" were filmed at the famed Clinton Arena. Its hockey program is widely regarded as one of the best in New York State, despite the small size of the school. The team won back to back State Championships twice. First in 1994-1995 and 1995–1996 and again in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. In 2005 and 2006, Clinton's Cross Country team won back to back scholar athlete state championships.

In 1984, Clinton's Football team went to the Carrier Dome beating V.V.S. in the semi-final, 3-0 and became Section 3 Class B Co-Champion along with Bishop Grimes since the game ended in a tie, 0-0.

Clinton's boys' soccer program won their first Section III title in 2006, and a second in 2011, for the first time advancing to the state semi-finals, as well as an undefeated regular season. It is also noted that they are among the top contenders for the Center-State Conference Championship every year. Clinton Track and Field is also well known in the area.

There is an annual Clinton Arts and Music Festival, created by Nick Katona (Melodic Revolution Records) in 2006. http://artandmusicfest.com/ Classic local Clinton bands like The Jellyfish, and Eggnogg have regularly played this festival.

Geography

Clinton is located at 43°2′56″N 75°22′49″W (43.048852, -75.380250).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.

The village is east of the Oriskany Creek.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,952 people, 922 households, and 488 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,349.4 people per square mile (1,299.4/km²). There were 965 housing units at an average density of 1,655.8 per square mile (642.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.05% White, 0.61% African American, 0.72% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population.

There were 922 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% were non-families. 41.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the village, the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $41,958, and the median income for a family was $66,685. Males had a median income of $45,750 versus $31,369 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,165. About 3.1% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.