Clinton County is named for DeWitt Clinton, who was a Governor of New York and an advocate for the construction of the Erie Canal.
Created: December 21, 1837
County Seat:
Camache 1840
Vanderburg ( DeWitt ) 1840 – 1869
Clinton 1869 – present
County Courthouse – Clinton
Location: 612 North 2nd Street / 7th Avenue North
Built: 1896 – 1897
Style: Romanesque
Architect: G S Mansfield
Contractor: G S La Veille and C A Moses
Description: The building faces east and is a three story red colored sandstone and granite structure. The building has a portico having three stone arches on the first story and four columns on the second story supporting a flat stone roof. On the west side is an enclosed portico of granite with wide arch and balcony on the second story. At each corner of the building is a round tower with conical roof. On the center of the roof is a large square copper clock tower.
Note: The court operated from hotels in Camache. The first courthouse was a donated building in 1842 in Vanderburg ( Dewitt ). A second courthouse was built in 1854 at a cost of $6,000. In 1869, a courthouse was built in Clinton. The present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $168,000.
Courthouses:
N – Jackson County
E – Carroll County, Illinois, Whiteside County, Illinois and Rock Island County, Illinois
S – Scott County
W – Cedar County and Jones County
Photos taken 2008