Clinton, Mississippi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
City of Clinton
City

Seal
Nickname(s): Mount Salus (original name)
Motto: History • Pride • Progress
Location in Hinds County, Mississippi
Location of Mississippi in the United States
Coordinates: 32°20′30″N 90°19′18″W / 32.34167°N 90.32167°W / 32.34167; -90.32167Coordinates: 32°20′30″N 90°19′18″W / 32.34167°N 90.32167°W / 32.34167; -90.32167[1]
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Hinds
Founded 1823
Incorporation 1824
Government
 • Type Strong Mayor-Council
 • Mayor Phil Fisher
 • Board of Aldermen Tony Hisaw, Tony Greer, Mike Bishop, Kathy Peace, Mike Morgan, Bill Barnett, Jehu Brabham
Area[2]
 • Total 42.1 sq mi (109 km2)
 • Land 41.8 sq mi (108 km2)
 • Water 0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
Elevation[1] 358 ft (109 m)
Population (2010)[3]
 • Total 25,216
 • Density 598/sq mi (231/km2)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 39056, 39058,
39060 (P.O. boxes)
Area codes 601 and 769
FIPS code[2][4] 28-14420
GNIS ID[1][4] 668609
Website 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 25,216 at the 2010 United States Census.[3]

History

Old Natchez Trace in 2002
Camp Clinton entrance in 1943; sign reads Prisoner of War Camp Clinton, Miss.

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. Clinton is also home to the "Clinton Arrows" and "Mississippi College Choctaws". The first road through Mount Salus/Clinton was the Natchez Trace. Currently Clinton has three major highways that pass through the city:U.S. Route 80, 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 Civil War on the way to the Battle of Vicksburg in May 1863. Grant, who scored a decisive victory at Vicksburg, mistakenly believed that John C. Pemberton, a Confederate general, would attack him at Clinton.[5]

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 the war, 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 until 2002. After its bankruptcy due to the largest accounting scandal at the time 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 former WorldCom compound in Clinton.

On April 15, 2011, an EF-4 tornado struck the city at around 11:00a.m.. This happened in the middle of the April 2011 tornado outbreak that spawned other tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama. It produced damage near Interstate 20 which included total destruction to the BankPlus building. The tornado then headed east towards Jackson, Mississippi damaging many businesses and homes along Highway 80 East. The tornado caused multiple injuries, but no fatalities were recorded.

Geography

Clinton is located at 32°20′30″N 90°19′18″W / 32.34167°N 90.32167°W / 32.34167; -90.32167 (32.3415342, -90.3217585) and its elevation is 358 feet (109 m) above sea level.[1]

According to the 2010 United States Census, the city has a total area of 42.147 square miles (109.16 km2), of which 41.822 square miles (108.32 km2) is land and 0.325 square miles (0.84 km2) is water.[2][6]

Demographics

As of the 2010 census there were 25,216 people residing in Clinton,[3] with a population density of 598.3 per square mile (231.0 /km2).[2]

The racial makeup of the city was 60.1% White, 33.9% Black, 0.2% Native American, 4.1% Asian, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There was no information available on the percentage of the Clinton residents who identified themselves as Pacific Islander during the 2010 census.

In 2010, there were 9,328 households. The average household size in Clinton was 2.54. The median income for a household in the city was $56,539; the per capita income was $26,398. About 9.1% of the population was below the poverty line.[6]

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 August 2013, General (ret) Phil Fisher is the city's mayor. The Board of Alderman are Dave Ellis (Ward 1), Tony Greer (Ward 2), Bill Barnett (Ward 3), Greg Cronin (Ward 4), Jan Cossitt(Ward 5), Mike Cashion (Ward 6) and Jehu Brabham (Alderman-At-Large).[7]

Economy

At one point WorldCom (now Verizon) was headquartered in Clinton. In 2003 the company announced that it would move its headquarters to Virginia.[8][9]

Automotive component manufacturer Delphi Corporation operated a plant in Clinton from the early 1970s until its closure in 2009, making cable and wiring connectors.[10] When Delphi closed the plant in late 2009, with the loss of 280 jobs, production moved to Delphi's Warren, Ohio facility.[10][11]

Education

Public schools

The City of Clinton's public schools are served by the Clinton Public School District.

The Clinton Public School District serves an enrollment of approximately 5,000 students in grades pre-K through 12. It is regularly ranked as one of the top public school districts in Mississippi. Schools include Clinton Park Elementary (K-1), Northside Elementary (2-3), Eastside Elementary (4-5), Lovett Elementary (6), Clinton Junior High (7-8), Sumner Hill Junior High (9) and Clinton High School (10-12). Additional schools include the CHS Career Complex, offering college and career readiness courses for grades 10-12, and Clinton Alternative School. Recently the Clinton school districts have given out macbook air's to all of their high school students and varying different electronic devices to other grades(all apple).

All of its tested schools are ranked "A," the highest possible academic rating a Mississippi public school can attain, and the district rating is also "A." Clinton Park Elementary serves grades K-1 and is not rated, since the state test is not administered until third grade.

Colleges

Public high schools

Public junior high schools

  • Sumner Hill Junior High School (Grade 9)
  • Clinton Junior High School (Grades 7 and 8)

Elementary schools

  • Lovett Elementary School (Grade 6)
  • Northside/Eastside Elementary School (Grade 2-5)
  • Clinton Park Elementary School (Grades K and 1)

Private schools

  • Clinton Christian Academy
  • Mt. Salus Christian School

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.

Notable people

(see: List of people from Mississippi)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Feature Detail Report for: Clinton (Hinds County, Mississippi)". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved October 2, 2007. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Places: Mississippi". 2010 Census Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 28, 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Clinton city, Mississippi". Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 28, 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "FIPS55 Data: Mississippi". FIPS55 Data. United States Geological Survey. February 23, 2006. 
  5. ↑ John Keegan (1987). "Grant and Unheroic Leadership". The Mask of Command: A Study of Generalship. Pimlico (Random House). p. 214. ISBN 1-84413-738-4. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 16, 2012. 
  7. ↑ Board of Alderman
  8. ↑ "MCI Inc - SC 13D/A - LCC International Inc ." Securities and Exchange Commission. March 14, 2003. Retrieved on September 25, 2009.
  9. ↑ "WorldCom to emerge from collapse." CNN. Monday April 14, 2003. Retrieved on September 25, 2009.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Delphi closes Clinton, MS plant", Plastics Today, October 5th, 2009
  11. ↑ "Delphi plant in Mississippi to close", Business Week

External links


Municipalities and communities of Hinds County, Mississippi, United States
Cities
Towns
Unincorporated
communities
Footnotes
‡ This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Jackson (capital)
Topics
Society
Regions
Metros
Larger cities
Smaller cities
Counties
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.