Clinton Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Sheridan County · Population 38 (2020 census) · ZIP 69343 · Founded 1885 · Peak population 157 (1930)

About Clinton

Clinton is a village of 38 (2020) on the north side of US 20 in Sheridan County, about 7 miles east-northeast of Rushville and 8 miles west-southwest of Gordon, at about 3,744 feet. It has no post office; mail goes through Gordon (69343). The Cowboy Trail's 16-mile western segment between Rushville and Gordon passes the village on the old railroad grade. Clinton is on Mountain Time.

History

A colony settled here in 1885. Abel Love proposed the name Moulton, but another Nebraska town had it, so the settlers named it for Clinton, Iowa. The post office opened on August 4, 1885, and the county's first jury trial was held here that year. Clinton was eliminated in the first round of the county-seat election on September 8, 1885. It was a flag station on the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (later Chicago & North Western); the Pioneer Town Site Company platted it in 1894, and it was incorporated as a village in 1920. At its peak of 157 people in 1930 it had stores, a drug store, an ice plant, a village light plant, a brick high school and a 50-piece band led by banker Ray G. Lyon. Cars, paved roads and wartime jobs drew people away; the post office closed in 1960 and the railroad in 2006.

Highways and trails through Clinton

Route	One way	Other way
US 20Along the south edge of the village	West to Rushville	East to Gordon

Nearby towns

Rushville	about 7 mi west-southwest	US 20
Gordon	about 8 mi east-northeast	US 20
Hay Springs	about 18 mi west-southwest	US 20
Whiteclay	about 19 mi north-northwest	US 20 and NE 87
Pine Ridge, South Dakota	about 21 mi north-northwest	US 20 and NE 87
Chadron	about 34 mi west	US 20

Things to see

the Cowboy Trail on the old Chicago & North Western grade, 16 miles between Rushville and Gordon

Schools and health care

Schools: Students attend Gordon-Rushville Public Schools

Health care: Nearest hospital: Gordon Memorial in Gordon, about 8 mi; clinic in Rushville

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Who's Who in Nebraska, Sheridan County (1940); NEGenWeb Sheridan County (Evans and Manion accounts, Perkey data); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names; History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Emergency Management Agency; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Sheridan County; Sheridan County Historical Society; Visit Sheridan County; Visit Nebraska; Gordon-Rushville Public Schools; Hay Springs Public Schools; Sheridan County Journal Star; Nebraska Examiner; Nebraska Public Media; Clint D. Andersen, Potash (2003). Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.