Clinton is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States.

The general area was part of a British land grant in 1697 known as the Great Nine Partners Patent.

The particular strip running at the bottom of the patent including the future hamlet of Clinton Corners was classified as good land.

In the early 1700s, Rhinebeck was the largest settlement in Dutchess County, taking advantage of the Hudson River for transportation of people and produce.

Across Dutchess County to the east the settlements of Amenia and Wassaic in the Harlem River valley were also attracting European settlers.

In addition to the early Dutch and English settlers, by the mid 1700s German Palatines were moving into the western regions of Clinton.

After the war ended, dairy farmers brought their milk by wagon to the creamery in the hamlet of Clinton Corners by the tracks of the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railway.

During the second half of the 20th century, the town of Clinton transformed from an agricultural into a residential center.