Clinton, Texas, Hunt County ghost town. (original) (raw)
Approaching Clinton
Photo courtesy Mike Price, September 2009
History in a Pecan Shell
In 1887 the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad bought the land for a token of five dollars. The seller, one J. M. Massey made it conditional upon the railroad building a depot here. The railroad complied, naming it after one of their own officers that same year. The following year a post office was granted and continued for decades, although no one is certain of when it closed.
The earliest recorded population was in 1904 when 138 citizens were counted. By 1910 it had fallen to right around 100 and by the time the Great Depression arrived it was down to just 88. The last official count was in the mid 1960s when 30 people considered Clinton home.
A Visit to Clinton, Texas
Photographer's Note:
A crossroads, a few homes on dirt streets, cemetery, and a large influx of new homes on acre + sized lots is about all that's left of whatever was here. - Mike Price, September 2009
Clinton scene
Photo courtesy Mike Price, September 2009
The 1859 Clinton Cemetery
Photo courtesy Mike Price, September 2009
Historical Marker: 3.4 miles N of Caddo Mills on S Hwy 36; .4 miles W on CR 2720
Clinton Cemetery
According to local legend, this graveyard originated when an unknown cowboy was buried near this site with the permission of landowner James Massay, who designated the spot as a community cemetery. Massay also gave the land for a railroad right-of-way along which the town of Clinton was built. The earliest marked grave in the cemetery is that of R. J. McAdams (1836-1859), wife of J. E. McAdams. The village was named Massayville in 1899, but was later renamed Clinton for Charles S. Clinton, an official of the Cotton Belt Railway. More than 500 graves in this cemetery and a few scattered homes in the vicinity were all that remained of the Clinton community in 1998. The cemetery is a record of the pioneers of Hunt County.
(1998)
Clinton Cemetery Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Mike Price, September 2009
Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.