Clinton, KY

Clinton is a Hickman County city of 1,222 residents at the 2020 census and the county seat. U.S. Route 51 runs through the center as Washington Street, pointing north toward Cairo and south toward Fulton. The city was incorporated in 1831 after settling in the late 1820s, and the name may have come from a riverboat or a military captain. Even the uncertainty feels like part of the town's character: the name stayed, while the story behind it got a little foggy.

The clearest piece of Clinton's past is educational. Clinton College opened in 1873 under the West Union Baptist Association, with Rev. Willis White helping lead the effort. The college closed in 1913, and the site later served as Clinton High School. Today the Hickman County Memorial Library and Hickman County High School keep that school-centered thread in town. Clinton is still a working county seat, but its old Washington Street route and college history give the place more depth than a courthouse address alone.