Whidbey Island was originally inhabited by Coast Salish tribes, including the Suquamish, Swinomish, Lower Skagit, and Snohomish.

There were three main Snohomish villages in southern Whidbey: D’GWAD’wk (Digwadsh), TSEHT-skluhks, and SHET’LH-shet-lhuts.

By the late 1800s, more settlers began to move to Whidbey Island, bringing diseases that tragically decimated many Native populations.

In northern Whidbey, Colonel Isaac N. Ebey became the island's first permanent white resident.

The early town centers included the old Clinton Union Store, the Post Office, and the Salisbury Shingle Mill.

The ferry service initially operated under the Black Ball Line of the Puget Sound Navigation Company and was later acquired by the Washington State Department of Transportation, creating Washington State Ferries (WSF), now the largest ferry system in the U.S. [7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2), of which, 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) of it is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2) of it (73.84%) is water.

The economy of Clinton, along with the surrounding Island County, is driven by a combination of tourism, service industries, agriculture, and small-scale manufacturing.