Because of governmental stipulations that an Indian could sell no more than one half of a 160-acre (0.6 km2) allotment, the men made plans to purchase 320 acres (1.3 km2) from four different Indians (Hays, Shoe-Boy, Nowahy, and Night Killer) and paid them each $2,000 for 80 acres (320,000 m2) to begin the small settlement of Washita Junction.

[6] In 1912 the line was electrified and restarted, while the new owners talked of extending the tracks north to the county seat of Arapaho, and perhaps even further to Taloga.

[6] However, a trolley’s collision in 1914 with an SLSF switch engine, killing one passenger and injuring others, caused the line to dissolve under lawsuits, and the rails were dug up and salvaged by 1915 to pay legal fees.

Like most other cities and towns on Route 66, Clinton was home of tourist businesses including several restaurants, cafés, motels and filling stations.

The U.S. Highway 66 Association, founded 1927 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, curtailed its activity when World War II rationing of rubber and fuel disrupted leisure travel.

After the war, Jack and Gladys Cutberth revived the organization in Clinton, where it promoted the "Main Street of America" from 1947 until it disbanded in the 1980s.

[7] Dr. Walter S. Mason Jr. operated a Best Western motel (1964–2003) which welcomed Elvis Presley as an occasional guest in the 1960s.

Later, the government leased the site back and used it as Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base a bomber base supporting 4123rd Strategic Wing, then the 70th Bombardment Wing, Heavy of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), operating B-52 Stratofortress and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft.

Purchasing more land, the site soon expanded to more than 3,500 acres (14 km2), where both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy utilized the airfield for both operational and training purposes.

Automotive manufacturer SportChassis, a maker of customized tow rigs, has its global headquarters in Clinton.

Clinton's wrestling team earned its first trip to a dual state championship final in 2015; it would lose to longtime rival Tuttle Tigers.

The Lady Red Tornadoes soccer team won the State Championship in 2017 under the leadership of Coach Eugene Jefferson.

Team colors are maroon and gold and the school mascot is an anthropomorphic tornado named "Tony."