Clinton County was formed on February 20, 1835 from portions of Cumberland and Wayne counties. It was named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York and driving force behind the Erie Canal. Courthouse fires in 1864 and 1980 resulted in the destruction of county records, but in the latter case, local volunteers' assistance successfully preserved almost all records.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,634 people, 4,086 households, and 2,811 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 4,888 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 99.09% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. 1.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,086 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couplesliving together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.85. In the county, the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $19,563, and the median income for a family was $25,919. Males had a median income of $21,193 versus $16,194 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,286. About 20.20% of families and 25.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.80% of those under age 18 and 29.90% of those age 65 or over.
In presidential elections Clinton County has been overwhelmingly Republican ever sinceReconstruction ended. Its Republican sympathies are rooted in the fact that, relative to population, Clinton County provided more soldiers for the Union Army than any free state, and saw a proportion of its population volunteer for Union service only exceeded by the equally Republican Owsley County. The last Democrat to carry Clinton County was Horatio Seymour in 1868 – when the state was largely controlled by former Confederates – and since at least 1896 no Democrat has reached thirty percent of the county's vote. Nor has any Republican in this time span – even William Howard Taft during the divided 1912 election – fallen short of sixty percent. Jackson County to the northeast is the only other county in the United States that has seen no Democrat reach thirty percent since the beginning of the twentieth century.
