[5] The city was named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, a key promoter of the Erie Canal.

[9] Piped water, electricity, and macadam roads were brought in during the 1880s, and a telephone system in the 1890s.

[9] In 1905, Clinton and the rest of Henry County held two separate votes on prohibition of alcohol.

In 1909, another such local option vote in Clinton gave the same result, against prohibition.

[10] In the Olde Glory Days parade, which occurred less than one week after the accident, Komer was memorialized and Elk's Lodge members from many parts of Western Missouri marched to show their support for the Clinton Lodge.

Williams House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[12] The downtown square serves as a center for community commerce and public affairs.

The 2020 United States census[16] counted 9,174 people, 3,720 households, and 2,098 families in Clinton.

[20] On September 12, 2007, the Tour of Missouri bicycle race began stage 2 from Clinton.

[21] The initial take off began from the historic downtown square, and ended in Springfield.

Clinton lies at the western terminus of the Katy Trail, a 225-mile long state park used by cyclists, runners and horseback riders.

The rail trail is built on the path of the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, which was abandoned between Clinton and Sedalia in 1989.

The city is also situated near Truman Lake, which is widely known for its excellent boating, fishing, camping, and other related activities.

KDKD-AM, Clinton's oldest radio station that first went on-air May 11, 1951, specialized in agricultural programming and ceased operations on December 31, 2021.

The stations returned to local ownership in 2018 after Clayton and Brittany Radford founded Radford Media Group LLC and purchased the three stations from Portland-based broadcasting company Alpha Media for $250,000.

[22] The transmitter for KXEA is located in Lowry City, Missouri, however, the two stations are operated under the same roof in Clinton.