Clinton, Ontario

Clinton
Clinton
Coordinates:
Province	Ontario

Clinton is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the municipality of Central Huron. Established in 1831, Clinton first began when Jonas Gibbings, Peter and Stephen Vanderburg cleared out a small area to start. Clinton started to grow in 1844 when William Rattenbury laid out the plans to began making a village. In 1954, Clinton's population was 2625 people. Today, it has an estimated population of 3201.

Clinton is known as Canada's home of radar and has a huge radar antenna in the downtown due to its association with RCAF Station Clinton during World War II. Clinton was known as The Corners or "Rattenbury Corner" in its earlier days.

It was named after Sir Henry Clinton, who distinguished himself during the Peninsular War.

The School On Wheels, a school car that visited remote Northern Ontario communities to educate children who would otherwise not have access to school, is permanently on display in Clinton as a museum about education.

Clinton was the home of the highly influential 19th century ethnologist and anthropologist Horatio Hale, who involved himself locally in real estate development and other business and educational endeavours. Several of the streets in the centre of the town were personally named by him. Hale is interred in the municipal cemetery north of the community.

Clinton is home to three elementary schools, Clinton Public School, St.Joseph's School, and Huron Christian School (formerly Clinton and District Christian School); and to two high schools, Central Huron Secondary School and St. Anne's Catholic Secondary School. Because of its centrality in the county, most students are bussed into the schools from surrounding areas.

Notoriety

In 1959, the Clinton area was shocked by the murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper. Her remains were discovered in a local woodlot near RCAF Station Clinton on June 11, 1959. A local youth, Stephen Truscott (aged 14 years at the time) was falsely convicted of the crime and sentenced to be executed. After a 48-year struggle to clear his name, Truscott was finally acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal on August 28, 2007.

Transportation

Clinton is at the junction of Highway 4, Highway 8 and County Road 4.

Clinton is served by the North Link scheduled bus service to Owen Sound and London, operated by Aboutown Transportation.

Media

The local paper of Clinton is the Clinton News-Record located at 53 Albert Street. The local radio stations are 101.7 The One, AM920, 94.5 The Bull and 104.9 The Beach.

• CKNX-FM 101.7 "The One" - local, regional and national news and adult contemporary music
• CIBU-FM 94.5/91.7 "Classic Rock" - local, regional and national news and classic rock music
• CKNX AM AM920 The areas most trusted news source featuring Country Hits

The Farm Show by Theatre Passe Muraille was based on Clinton.

Notable persons

• Kepple Disney, Grandfather to Walt Disney, lived in Holmesville, Ontario just west of Clinton, ON operating a Grist Mill
• Gregory Gallant, pen name Seth, (born 1962) comic book artist and writer
• Tim Grant, commanded Canadian forces in Afghanistan.
• Horatio Hale (1817–1896) influential early ethnologist and anthropologist
• John Muirhead (1877–1954) politician Manitoba, Canada
• Alice Munro (born 1931) award-winning short story author, 2009 winner of the Man Booker International Prize and 2013 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature.
• William Mustard (1914–1987) innovative cardiac surgeon
• Ryan O'Reilly (born 1991) Canadian hockey player with the buffalo sabres.
• William Dillon Otter, first Canadian-born Commander of the Canadian Army.
• Joseph Whitehead (1814–1894) Canadian railway pioneer and political figure, former mayor of Clinton, area's first MP.
• Keith Holland (Born 1989) Known as Keith "Runaway Train" Holland for his dedication to smashing weak hockey players.

Bibliography

• Scott, James. Huron County In Pioneer Times, 1954.

External links

• Clinton News Record paper