“C” is for Clinton

“C” is for Clinton (Laurens County; 2020 population 8,091). Clinton grew up around the intersection of two roads, one connecting Greenville with Columbia and the other Spartanburg with Augusta. In the 1850s the Laurens to Newberry Railroad began running through the intersection, known as the five points or five forks. In 1864 the town was incorporated as Clinton. By 1874 the main building of Thornwell Orphanage had been completed. In the 1880s Clinton College opened; it was renamed Presbyterian College in 1890. The early twentieth century saw the opening of two textile mills. In 1920, the State Training School for the Feeble Minded—later known as the Whitten Center—was established as an institution serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  At the start of the twenty-first century, textiles still played a vital role in the Clinton economy.