Clinton, Mississippi
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| City of Clinton | |||
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| Nickname: Mount Salus (original name) | |||
| Motto: History • Pride • Progress | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Mississippi | ||
| County | Hinds | ||
| Founded | 1823 | ||
| Incorporation | 1824 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Strong Mayor-Council | ||
| - Mayor | Rosemary Aultman (R) | ||
| - Board of Aldermen | Tony Hisaw, Tony Greer, Mike Bishop, Kathy Peace Mike Morgan, Bill Barnett, Jehu Brabham |
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| Area | |||
| - Total | 24.1 sq mi (62.4 km²) | ||
| - Land | 23.8 sq mi (61.6 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 358 ft (109 m) | ||
| Population (2006 Estimate) | |||
| - Total | 26,212 | ||
| - Density | 1,089/sq mi (420.5/km²) | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-6) | ||
| Zip Code(s); physical locations | 39056, 39058 | ||
| Zip Code(s); U.S. P.O. boxes | 39060 | ||
| Area code(s) | 601, 769 | ||
| FIPS code | 28-14420[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0668609[2] | ||
| For additional city data see: City-Data | |||
| Website: http://www.clintonms.org | |||
Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi. The population was 23,347 at the 2000 United States Census.
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[edit] History
Clinton, founded in 1823 was originally known as Mount Salus, which means "Mountain of health". 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. 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, a Christian university located in Clinton, is the oldest college in the state of Mississippi, founded January 24, 1826. Mississippi College is the second oldest Baptist university in the world, and was also the first coeducational college in the United States to grant a degree to a woman. The historically black institution of higher education for women, Mount Hermon Female Seminary was established in 1875 by Sarah Ann Dickey. It closed in 1924.
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. Approximately 50 people were 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 from the mid-1990s to until 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. Verizon, MCI's successor and which also owns SkyTel (no relation to Bell Mobility's Skytel brand), still occupy the massive formerly Worldcom compound in Clinton.
Clinton is a Certified Mississippi Main Street Community.[3]
[edit] Geography
Clinton is located at (32.339545, -90.323038)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.1 square miles (62.4 km²), of which, 23.8 square miles (61.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (1.00%) is water. Clinton's elevation is at 358 feet above sea level.[5]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 23,347 people, 8,328 households, and 6,079 families residing in the city. The population density was 979.2 people per square mile (378.1/km²). There were 8,899 housing units at an average density of 373.2/sq mi (144.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.92% White, 22.53% Black, 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.
[edit] Government
Clinton operates as a Code Charter form of government, divided into six Wards. The local governing body consists of the Mayor, one Alderman representing each of the six Wards and one Alderman-at-Large whose duty is to represent the entire community.
As of February 2008, Rosemary G. Aultman is the city's mayor. The Board of Alderman are Tony Hisaw (Ward 1), Tony Greer (Ward 2), Mike Bishop (Ward 3), Kathy Peace (Ward 4), Mike Morgan (Ward 5), Bill Barnett (Ward 6) and Jehu Brabham (Alderman-At-Large).
[edit] Education
[edit] Public schools
The City of Clinton's public schools are served by the Clinton Public School District.
The Clinton Public School District consists of seven campuses with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 students. It is regularly ranked as one of the top public school districts in Mississippi. Four schools received the state's highest rating of "Level 5" (Superior Performing) based on test scores from the 2005-2006 school year. Two received the second highest rating of "Level 4" (Exemplary). The remaining school, which serves Kindergarten and First Graders, was not assigned a rating, as tests are not administered at these grade levels.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Career Complex (vocational trade education, part of the Clinton Public School District)
- Clinton Alternative School (part of the Clinton Public School District)
[edit] Public high schools
- Clinton High School (Grades 10 through 12)
[edit] Public junior high schools
- Sumner Hill Junior High School (Grade 9)
- Clinton Junior High School (Grades 7 and 8)
[edit] Elementary schools
- Lovett Elementary School (Grade 6)
- Eastside Elementary School (Grades 4 and 5)
- Northside Elementary School (Grades 2 and 3)
- Clinton Park Elementary School (Grades K and 1)
[edit] Private schools
- Mt. Salus Christian School (operates two separate campuses)
- High school campus (Grades 7-12)
- Elementary campus (Grades K - 6)
- Mt. Salus' enrollment as of 2007 is 315 students, 60% of whom come from Clinton. Of these students 70% are Caucasian, 20% are African-American and 10% are other races. The school is accredited through the Mississippi Private School Association.
- Elementary campus (Grades K - 6)
- High school campus (Grades 7-12)
[edit] Professional sports
The Mississippi Brilla is a pro soccer team competing in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and play in the Mid-South Division of the Southern Conference in 2007, playing against teams from Austin, Baton Rouge, Dallas, El Paso, Laredo and New Orleans. They play their home games at Robert P. Longabaugh Field on the campus of Mississippi College in the city of Clinton.
[edit] Noteworthy natives
- Mandy Ashford - singer (member of innosense with Britney Spears), model (most notably nude in Playboy's Lingerie as Cyber Girl of the Week, June 2004.)[6] She has also served as a spokesmodel for Swisher cigars, Miller Lite, Samson Technologies and currently Thompson Pump.
- Lance Bass - pop singer, actor and producer; member of the pop group 'N Sync
- Richard H. Booth - artist
- James Dotson Byrd - inventor, developed the plastic used as a heat shield in the NASA Space Program
- Keith Carlock - drummer for Sting and Steely Dan
- Chad Chisholm - writer, Clinton historian
- Cynthia F. Cooper - auditor, whistleblower
- Eddie Cotton - blues singer and guitarist
- George Dale - former State of Mississippi Insurance Commissioner
- Ted DiBiase - professional wrestler, minister
- Ted DiBiase, Jr.- professional wrestler
- Jenna Edwards - model, former Miss Teen All-American, former Miss Florida
- Meredith Edwards - country music singer
- Shelly Fairchild - country music singer
- Taryn Foshee - 2006 Miss Mississippi
- Sam Gore - artist, sculptor
- Barry Hannah - writer, professor
- Jaret Holmes - former Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars placekicker
- Daniel Curtis Lee - actor
- Robert S. McElvaine - writer, professor
- Malcolm E. McMillin - Hinds County, Mississippi Sheriff and Jackson Chief of police
- Alex Nicholson - war hero Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist
- Chase Quarterman - artist
- Leon Seals - former Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle
- Wyatt Waters - artist
(see: List of people from Mississippi)
[edit] External links
- City of Clinton – Official site.
- Clinton Chamber of Commerce
- Clinton Public School District
- The Clinton News
- Journal entry of German POW General Hermann Bernhard Ramcke regarding his time at Camp Clinton
- Mississippi Brilla soccer team official web site
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Mississippi Main Street Association
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ USGS. City of Clinton. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
- ^ Playboy.com
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