"C" is for Clinton

"C" is for Clinton (Laurens County, 2010 population, 8,335). Clinton grew up around the intersection of two roads, one connecting Greenville with Columbia and the other Spartanburg with Augusta. In the 1850s, the Newberry-to-Laurens railroad ran through the intersection, resulting in the development of a town. The little community was named for Henry Clinton Young, an attorney from nearby Laurens. The town was incorporated in 1864. In 1874 Thornwell Orphanage was built to help children who lost parents during the Civil War. Six years later Clinton College (now Presbyterian) opened its doors. Whitten Center was established in 1920. The first textile mills arrived around the turn of the last century. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, textiles still played a vital role in Clinton’s economy, as did manufacturers of metal bearings and building products.