The Melton Hill excavations uncovered two substantial Woodland period villages along the Clinch at Bull Bluff and Freels Bend, both approximately 20 miles (32 km) downstream from Clinton.

[8] By the time Euro-American explorers and longhunters arrived in the Clinch valley in the mid-18th century, what is now Anderson County was part of a vast stretch of land claimed by the Cherokee.

The earliest settlers in Anderson County included the Wallace, Gibbs, Freels, Frost and Tunnell families.

[10] Founded in 1801, the town of Burrville was named in honor of Aaron Burr, first-term Vice President under Thomas Jefferson.

[11] On November 8, 1809, by an act of the Tennessee State Legislature, the town of Burrville was renamed because of the disgrace of the Burr–Hamilton duel, which resulted in the death of Alexander Hamilton.

Another Southern Railway depot was constructed in 1914 while coal mining continued to be a large enterprise for Anderson County.

In 1916, the mill employed over 500 workers, constructed an addition to its building, and started planning for the production of women's silk hosiery.

[13] Prior to the flooding cause by the Tennessee Valley Authority's construction of the Melton Hill Dam, the Clinch River adjacent to Clinton was known for its freshwater pearl industry, however when river depths rose in the mid-20th century due to the dam, the warmer water temperature disrupted the mussels' habitat so that pearls were no longer harvestable.

While the first day of classes occurred without incident, pro-segregation forces led by John Kasper and Asa Carter arrived in Clinton the following week and rallied the city's white citizens.

In the 1990s, the Rogers Group, a firm specializing in road paving, began a campaign to reactivate an abandoned quarry and build an asphalt plant just east of Clinton near the community of Bethel.

The initiative met with opposition from local and environmental groups, who were concerned that the plant would release cancer-causing toxins into nearby residential neighborhoods.

The company argued that it would follow stringent environmental and pollution guidelines, retention ponds would limit runoff, and that the site would be surrounded by vegetation.

[15] On August 20, 2007, the Clinton City Council voted 6–1 to rezone the quarry property for industrial uses, paving the way for the plant's construction.

In response, a local advocacy group known as Citizens for Safety and Clean Air filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Bethel residents in Anderson County Chancery Court contending that the council's rezoning was unconstitutional and seeking an injunction preventing the council from rezoning the property as an industrial zone.

[17] In 2018, urban developers and city officials met with the proposal to redevelop the downtown and waterfront area of Clinton after the Tennessee Department of Transportation began construction on a new bridge to carry US 25W-SR 9 across the Clinch River.

[18] Since 2018, an unknown developer based out of Knoxville has planned, under contract, the purchase of the Magnet Mills site along with a nearby plot of land with the intention of converting the area into a mix of residential and retail use.

The park was proposed by the local non-profit organization, the Hollingsworth Foundation, which owns land for the site along with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

State Route 61 connects the city to Norris and Andersonville to the northeast and the community of Marlow and the town of Oliver Springs to the southwest, following a natural series of pathways through the mountain terrain.