Clinton, Illinois
Clinton is a city of 6,985 people in De Witt County, Illinois, founded in 1835.
Why visit Clinton
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 9 parks and trails, 11 places to eat, 2 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Clintonia Eagle Theater, C. H. Moore House and Magill House.
Weather in Clinton
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Clinton
Clinton is the largest city in and the county seat of DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,898 at the 2023 census.
From the Wikipedia article Clinton, Illinois (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks4
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C. H. Moore House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 0.4 mi
Clinton, Illinois, NRHP-listed
Magill House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 0.4 mi
Historic house in DeWitt County, Illinois, US
Parks, trails and playgrounds9
Restaurants and cafes11
Monical's Pizza
Restaurant · Pizza · 0.9 mi
121 Sunrise Court, Clinton
Su-Th 11:00-21:00; Fr-Sa 11:00-22:00
Sweet Mae's
Ice cream · 0.5 mi
122 North Center Street, Clinton
Mo off; Tu-Th 16:00-20:00; Fr-Su 12:00-20:00
Snappers Bar & Grill
Restaurant · 0.4 mi
303 South Side Square, Clinton
Mo-Su 10:00-00:00
Sorrento's Pizza
Fast food · Pizza · 0.5 mi
101 East Washington Street, Clinton
Mo-Th 16:00-20:00; Fr-Sa 16:00-23:00
History
The city was founded in 1835 by Jesse W. Fell of Bloomington, Illinois, a land speculator and lawyer, and James Allen, a representative in the Illinois State Legislature. The two men were on their way from Decatur, Illinois back to Bloomington after a business trip and stopped to rest their horses on the open prairie halfway between the two cities. It occurred to them that this was an ideal location for a settlement, as there was nothing else nearby. They named the town in honor of DeWitt Clinton.
Clinton is on the 8th Judicial Circuit, on which Abraham Lincoln traveled, along with Judge David Davis, for twenty years. Lincoln acted as lawyer because lawyers were scarce in the area at the time.
One of the two registered historical locations in DeWitt County, the C.H. Moore House, is located in Clinton. The house was purchased and improved by lawyer Clifton H. Moore in the 1880s, and is now the DeWitt County Museum. Moore's private library of more than 7,000 volumes was left to the city upon his death in 1901. These books would make up the first collection of the Vespasian Warner Public Library, founded by and named for Moore's son-in-law.
In 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Clinton to which the following quotation has been attributed:
You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
From the History section of Clinton, Illinois on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay2
Churches and places of worship11
Shopping4
Gas and EV charging5
Schools, colleges and libraries9
Healthcare2
Map of Clinton
58 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
De Witt County has had 7 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for biologicals.
- 2023-08-15: Severe Storms And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2020-03-26: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2007-02-09: Severe Winter Storm (Severe Ice Storm)
- 2005-09-07: Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (Hurricane)
- 2002-05-21: Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding (Tornado)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Decatur Airport (DEC) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 22 miles away.
- Atlanta 16 mi northwest, about 26 min by car
- Decatur 20 mi south, about 32 min by car
- Lincoln 22 mi west, about 35 min by car
- Bloomington 23 mi north, about 37 min by car
- Normal 26 mi north, about 42 min by car
- Bement 26 mi southeast, about 42 min by car
- Mahomet 30 mi east, about 49 min by car
- Champaign 36 mi east, about 59 min by car
- Urbana 41 mi east, about 1 h by car
- Springfield 44 mi southwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Clinton city hall in Illinois, Nyttend, Public domain
- Clinton, Illinois (7235204964), Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Clinton and Bloomington, Illinois (7235206870), Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Clinton post office 61727, Nyttend, Public domain
- Clinton public square, northwestern quadrant, Nyttend, Public domain
- Magill House in Clinton, Nyttend, Public domain
- DeWitt County Courthouse, Clinton, Nyttend, Public domain
- DeWitt County Jail, Clinton, Nyttend, Public domain
- C. H. MOORE HOUSE, JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0
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