Clinton, Indiana

Clinton is a city in Vermillion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,893 at the 2010 census.

History

The city was established in 1829 and is named after DeWitt Clinton, who served as governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. Many of Clinton's original settlers were immigrants working in coal mines. Most of the immigrants were Italians trying to earn a living coal mining. According to Vermillion County naturalization records, "...from 1856 to 1952... Vermillion County received almost 3,550 new citizens of foreign birth, the largest number coming during the first twelve years of [the 20th] century. Italians accounted for one-third, or 1,178, of the total number who filed Declarations, with Austrians the next largest group (675) and then Scots. At least 77 percent of the Italians were from the northern regions of Italy." This was in contrast to the majority of Italian immigrants to America during this same time period that hailed from southern Italy. Over time, the coal mining industry in Clinton died down but many of the Italian settlers stayed at Clinton.