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Clinton, Tennessee

Anderson County’s seat on the Clinch River — where the Clinton 12 walked into history in 1956, with a freshly renovated Market Street antique district, riverside parks and trails, and a drugstore soda fountain dating to 1930.

City · incorporated 1801Seat of Anderson County →Pop. 10,056 (2020)Eastern timeThings to do ↓Eat & drink ↓Places to stay ↓Events ↓A short history ↓City hall & resources ↓

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · sources at the bottom

In 30 seconds
  • Why stop: the Green McAdoo Cultural Center and its Clinton 12 statues, then lunch and antiques on Market Street and a walk or ride at Lakefront or Aspire Park on the Clinch.
  • Before you go: the museum is open Tuesday–Saturday only and is free; many downtown cafés close by mid-afternoon and on Sundays.
  • Don’t confuse: “Clinton Highway” in Knoxville news is a Knox County road, not the city of Clinton. Oak Ridge and Norris are separate Anderson County cities with their own guides.

Visitor directory

Things to do in and around Clinton

In town

  • Green McAdoo Cultural Center ↗101 School St · free museum on the site of the segregated Green McAdoo School, telling the story of the Clinton 12 and the 1956 desegregation of Clinton High School: a 1950s classroom, life-size photo exhibits, interview screens and Edward R. Murrow’s 1957 CBS broadcast. Outside stand twelve life-size bronze statues of the students. Opened in 2006 for the 50th anniversary; a stop on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail · Tue–Sat 10 AM–5 PM ET, closed Sun–Mon · groups of 10+ asked to register ahead · (865) 463-6500. ⓘ source
  • Historic Downtown Clinton & Market Street ↗The antique district on Market and Main streets — antique and vintage shops, boutiques, cafés and the Hoskins Drug Store soda fountain. Market Street reopened in August 2026 after a 15-month, $5.9 million downtown project (new sidewalks and utilities). Self-guided downtown walking tour ↗ — Market Street, the courthouse, Green McAdoo School, Town Springs and more. ⓘ source
  • Ritz Theater ↗119 N. Main St · opened in 1945 and listed on the National Register; first-run movies (nightly shows at 7 PM ET), concerts and gospel singings.
  • Lakefront Park ↗140 S. Charles G. Seivers Blvd, on the Clinch River · city park with a walking trail, splash pad, ball fields, tennis/pickleball and basketball courts and a boat launch (Pellissippi Blueway access, river mile 59.7).
  • Aspire Park ↗777 Aspire Dr · free private nonprofit park on the Clinch River — 22 miles of hiking and mountain-bike trails, a paved 0.75-mile greenway past a wildflower meadow, bike skills park and pump track, adventure playground, dog park and river access for paddlers and anglers · open daily dawn to dusk; The Pearl restaurant on site. ⓘ source
  • Clinton Public Library & Townie’s Tale storybook trail ↗118 S. Hicks St · Mon–Fri 9 AM–7 PM, Sat 9 AM–3 PM ET · outside, a terrapin sculpture built from local students’ art and a kids’ storybook trail telling Clinton’s history. ⓘ source

On the water

  • Clinch River (Pellissippi Blueway) ↗The Clinch runs right past downtown. Paddle access points in Clinton include the TN-61 ramp (mile 66.3), Eagle Bend ramp (63.7), Aspire Park (61.8) and Lakefront Park (59.7); downstream toward Oak Ridge it is Melton Hill Lake. Check water and weather before you launch.

Elsewhere in Anderson County

  • Museum of Appalachia ↗2819 Andersonville Hwy — a Clinton mailing address, but out in the county near Norris · pioneer farm-village museum; Candlelight Christmas in December.
  • Norris Dam State Park ↗TVA’s first dam and its 1930s park, north of Clinton · cabins, trails and the grist mill — check the park page for campground status. See also our Norris Lake guide.
  • Oak RidgeThe Manhattan Project city southwest of Clinton (Anderson and Roane counties) — museums and Manhattan Project National Historical Park; see our Oak Ridge story.

Eat & drink

  • Hoskins Drug Store ↗111 N. Main St · established 1930, with an authentic soda fountain — hamburgers, malts and daily blue-plate specials · Mon–Fri 8 AM–6 PM, Sat 8 AM–3 PM. ⓘ source
  • Apple Blossom Café ↗407 Cullom St · family-owned Southern comfort-food café and caterer in the antique district · Mon–Fri 11 AM–8 PM. ⓘ source
  • Happi Hostess Café & Bakery ↗365 Market St · muffins, cupcakes and cookies baked fresh, plus soups, sandwiches and salads at lunch · Tue–Sat 11 AM–3 PM. ⓘ source
  • Hamock’s ↗425 Eagle Bend Rd · family-owned since 1982, now in a new downtown home — known for its chicken salad · Tue–Fri 10 AM–3 PM, Sat 10 AM–2 PM (Historic Downtown Clinton listing; call or check Facebook).
  • Little Bird Macarons ↗226 N. Main St · French macarons with Southern flavors · Tue–Sat 10 AM–5 PM (Historic Downtown Clinton listing).

Places to stay

Clinton’s hotels cluster at I-75 exit 122; cabins, campgrounds and lake rentals around Norris and Melton Hill lakes: Adventure Anderson’s stay page ↗.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · businesses copied from each business’s own page or its Historic Downtown Clinton listing — free listings; call ahead, small-town hours change.

Coming up in Clinton

  • Thu Oct 29 — Last day of early voting10 AM–6 PM ET · the Anderson County Fair Association Building, 218 Nave St, Clinton, is one of three early-voting sites (also Midtown Community Center, Oak Ridge, and the county office at 3324 Andersonville Hwy). ⓘ source
  • Mon Nov 2 — Public meeting on historic-register listings6 PM ET at the Anderson County Chamber, 500 N. Charles G. Seivers Blvd · free, no registration — the county wants input on National Register of Historic Places nominations. ⓘ source
  • Tue Nov 3 — Election DayPolls 9 AM–8 PM ET at your assigned precinct · Clinton’s mayor’s race (three candidates) and City Council seats are on the ballot with the state and federal races · Anderson County Election Commission, (865) 457-6238. ⓘ source
  • Mon Nov 23 — City Council regular meeting5:30 PM ET at City Hall, 100 N. Bowling St (4th Monday) — agendas on the city site. ⓘ source
  • Sat Dec 5 — Clinton Christmas Parade6 PM ET in Historic Downtown Clinton · theme “An All-American Christmas”; route to be announced. ⓘ source
  • Fri–Sat Dec 11–12 — Candlelight Christmas (Museum of Appalachia)Evening candlelit tours of the pioneer village — ticketed; check the museum for times. ⓘ source

Every year downtown: the Mosaic Arts Festival (spring), Clinch River Spring and Fall Antique Festivals, and Sip of Summerfest — 2027 dates on Historic Downtown Clinton ↗.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · times Eastern · dates from UT MTAS, the Anderson County Election Commission, Adventure Anderson, Historic Downtown Clinton and local news. More Anderson County events on the county guide.

Area news

Headlines from local outlets · Clinton & Anderson County

  • WVLT 8 · Oct 27, 2026

    Anderson County asked for public input on National Register historic listings at a Nov. 2, 6 p.m. meeting at the Chamber in Clinton.

    Read at WVLT 8 →
  • The Courier News · Oct 21, 2026

    Clinton High’s homecoming parade brought the Air Force JROTC, the homecoming court and Dragon pride down the newly reopened Market Street.

    Read at The Courier News →
  • The Courier News · Oct 14, 2026

    Early voting opened at three Anderson County sites, including the Fair Association Building in Clinton; Clinton’s three-way mayor’s race is the only contested mayoral race in the county.

    Read at The Courier News →
  • The Courier News · Oct 7, 2026

    The 25th Clinch River Fall Antique Festival drew big crowds downtown, the first since Market Street reopened in August after a $5.9 million renovation.

    Read at The Courier News →

Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the outlet. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]

A short history

Clinton began in 1801 as Burrville, laid out as the seat of the new Anderson County, which the legislature carved from Knox and Grainger counties and named for U.S. Senator Joseph Anderson. The town was named for Vice President Aaron Burr; after Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in their duel and was caught up in a land scheme, the General Assembly renamed it Clinton in 1809 — for Vice President George Clinton or his nephew DeWitt Clinton. Union Academy opened here in 1806, and later Clinton Seminary and Clinton Grove Academy. In the Civil War, loyalties in the county were split and the Confederates ran a conscription center at Clinton.

Farming came first; once railroads reached the county, coal mining became Anderson County’s leading industry, and in the 20th century Clinton was home to Magnet Mills, a large hosiery plant. The 1930s and 1940s brought TVA’s Norris Dam to the north and the wartime city of Oak Ridge to the southwest.

Clinton’s best-known chapter came in 1956. Local Black families had sued in 1950 — McSwain v. County Board of Education of Anderson County, with Thurgood Marshall among the families’ lawyers — because Anderson County offered Black students no high school at all; they were bused to Knoxville. After Brown v. Board of Education, federal Judge Robert L. Taylor ordered Clinton High School desegregated by fall 1956. In late August 1956 twelve Black students, the Clinton 12, walked down from the Green McAdoo School on Foley Hill to Clinton High — the first Black students to desegregate a state-supported public high school in Tennessee and, by the Tennessee Encyclopedia’s account, in the South.

Segregationist agitators, many from outside Clinton, stirred up crowds, and over Labor Day weekend rioting broke out. City leaders asked Gov. Frank G. Clement for help, local residents formed a home guard, and about 600 National Guardsmen restored order. On Dec. 4, 1956, the Rev. Paul Turner of First Baptist Church and two other white residents walked the students to school; a mob beat Turner afterward. On May 17, 1957, Bobby Cain became the first Black graduate of a desegregated public high school in Tennessee, and in 1958 Gail Ann Epps became the first Black young woman to graduate from one in Tennessee. On Oct. 5, 1958, a bombing wrecked the school; the community refurbished an empty elementary school in Oak Ridge, and classes resumed there within a week, still integrated, while Clinton High was rebuilt. The Green McAdoo School itself stayed segregated until 1965. The story is told today at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center on the old school site.

Visit: Green McAdoo Cultural Center ↗ · U.S. Civil Rights Trail: Clinton ↗

Anderson County’s full history → · East Tennessee history hub →

City hall & local resources

City of Clinton official site ↗ — city departments, parks and recreation, police and fire, notices. Clinton has an elected mayor and city council (home-rule charter, 1954); the council meets the 4th Monday at 5:30 PM ET at City Hall. Anderson County government is also based in Clinton, at the courthouse on Main Street.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · official sites only · numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. Emergencies: call 911.

Around Anderson County

← Anderson County guide — the county directory, Norris Dam, the Museum of Appalachia, Oak Ridge, Rocky Top and Windrock.

Other Anderson County towns: Oak Ridge (also Roane) · Norris · Oliver Springs (also Morgan & Roane) · Rocky Top (also Campbell). Communities: Andersonville · Briceville · Claxton · Medford · Marlow · Powell (also Knox) · Heiskell (also Knox).

Other county-seat guides: Wartburg (Morgan County) · Kingston (Roane County).

Sources

Checked Oct 29, 2026