The History of Clinton.
The city of Clinton might still be a small hamlet
named New York if it were not for geographical good fortune.
Platted as the town of New York in 1836 by its first settler,
Joseph Bartlett, the community was one of several that clustered on the
west bank of the Mississippi River.
Other communities were Lyons, Ringwood, Chancy and
Camanche.
The fledgling settlement had little hope of
growth. In 1839, it consisted of a sprinkling of cabins, two stores and
a tavern. Lyons, to the north, where a ferry had been established
by Elijah Buell, grew at a healthy pace. Lyons was first a mill
town with grain and flour mills before being recognized for its lumber
potential.
Throughout the 1840’s New York changed
little while communities around it continued to develop. However,
in 1855, the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad changed its plans and
announced it would cross the river at Little Rock Island adjacent to
Bartlett’s settlement, instead of at Lyons.
The Iowa Land Company bought Bartlett’s
tract and renamed it Clinton, in honor of DeWitt Clinton, governor of
New York State. From that date on Clinton grew, absorbing
Ringwood, Chancy and Lyons, and becoming the Clinton County seat as
well.
In the early 1800’s, not everyone could
afford passage on the steamboats which paddled the Mississippi bringing
goods and people to Clinton County. Some came by horse-drawn
wagons; others walked the many miles.
Among the walkers in 1835 was Dr. George Peck.
When he came upon a high bluff on the west river bank, he thought
it ideal for a great city and set about platting it. He named his
town after an Indian tribe, but misspelled it. Camanche, with its
erroneous “a” was born.
That same year, Martin Dunning arrived from
Chicago with a load of general merchandise and became the first
businessman to settle in Camanche. Peck’s investment was
secured when Albany, Illinois was platted across the river and a ferry
to Camanche was established. Camanche was the first governmental
seat when the county was formally organized in 1840.
A bit of Camanche history - its old railroad depot
has been fully restored and set on the library grounds as an historic
museum.
Between the late 1850’s and 1900, the
Clinton area was regarded as the sawmill capital of the nation.
Huge log rafts were floated down river from Wisconsin and
Minnesota, cut into lumber at Clinton, then shipped to growing
communities east, west, north and south via the river and the
railroads.
In 1865, the sawmills of Clinton, Lyons and
Camanche produced 21.5 million board feet of lumber. By 1892,
production had risen to more than 195 million board feet.
Lumbermen W. J. Young, Chancy Lamb and David Joyce
were counted among the 13 millionaires residing in Clinton during one
period and were among the city’s more influential leaders.
These families and others who gained great
wealth during the era constructed magnificent mansions along 5th, 6th
and 7th Avenues in Clinton. That area became the center of elite
social life. Elaborate and festive dinner parties, often catered
out of Chicago, were frequent.
Once again, location aided the River City Area.
The railroad and the river continue to provide
economic diversity in all directions, attracting manufacturing and
heavy industry to the community, plus providing sport and recreational
activities and commerce. Since the early years of this century,
and continuing forward, the Clinton area has prospered as an industrial
center, with a steadily growing list of products and services, which
are delivered to all parts of the nation and the world.
