Clinton (or Ka-dah-wis-dag, "white field" in Seneca language[2]) is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States.

[4] In describing the attractions of Hamilton College in 1833, it was stated to be "situated in one of the most healthful, delightful, and fertile parts of our country; surrounded by a numerous, increasing, virtuous, and enterprising population.

"[5] In 1903, another school catalogue, besides "the unrivalled beauty of the surrounding scenery" and "the remarkable healthfulness of the vicinity," commented on "the high moral fiber of the community and its superior educational advantages", all of which made Clinton "a most highly favored place for mental and moral culture.

The new inhabitants found good soil, plentiful forests, and friendly in southern Kirkland along with Oneida people, who passed through on trail.

Named after New York's first governor, George Clinton, fourth Vice President of the United States and an uncle of Erie Canal builder and New York governor DeWitt Clinton, the village had a gristmill on the Oriskany Creek on College Street the first year and slowly developed as a farming and mercantile center.

Samuel Kirkland founded Hamilton-Oneida Academy as a seminary to serve as part of his missionary work with the Oneida tribe.

[7] Kirkland named it in honor of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy.

According to Gordon's 1836 Gazetteer, Clinton had 50 dwellings, six stores, four taverns, two clothing works, a worsted factory, a grist mill, three churches (Universalist, Baptist, and Congregational), two academies, and two seminaries.

[12] Annual events on and around the Village Green include a summer farmers market,[13] the Shopper's Stroll during the weekend after Thanksgiving,[14] and the Clinton Art and Music festival in August.

[15] The Kirkland Art Center also hosts many activities throughout the year, including the KAC Road Race.

"[21] The prosperity and reputation of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy had drawn public attention to Clinton as a place of education.

[27]: 228 There was a public elementary or grammar school on East Park Row, which in 1802 was replaced by a brick building and in 1839 by a larger wood structure.

Under four different names, including Rural High School and Clinton Military Academy,[33] it survived until 1892 and was primarily in two buildings at 86–88 College St., though in 1891 it consolidated with Kirkland Hall (see below) and met there.

"[39] The Clinton Liberal Institute was a coeducational preparatory school founded by the Universalist Church, operating at the corner of Utica and Mulberry Streets from 1831 to 1878, and then in Fort Plain until destroyed by fire in 1900.

[40] An advertisement in 1841 reveals that it had a female department, and among the subjects taught were Greek, Hebrew, French, Astronomy, and Moral Philosophy.

After the Institute moved to Fort Plain, this building housed Kirkland Hall, a school for boys.

[63] In 1849, an advertisement reveals that Miss Catherine Hopkins, for some years Principal of the Female Department of the Hamilton Academy, was running a Young Ladies' Seminary, where Latin, Greek, French, German, and Italian could be studied.

[30]: 122 Its students were allowed to use the geological and chemical laboratories, the "philosophical [scientific] apparatus," and the library of Hamilton College.

"[79][30]: 138 In 1860, a "picturesque" Rural High School, occupying 18 acres at Elm St. and Norton Avenue (at the time Factory Street), operated in Clinton.

[28]: 12  Miss Katherine Lee conducted in her home a school for young children from 1905 to 1912;[73]: 120  another source says it closed in 1906.

[28]: 30  Mrs. Elizabeth Marr's Select School, established in 1861, located finally at 8 Meadow St., continued late into the 1870s; in 1873 the enrollment was 26.

Miss Anna Sykes conducted her Music School on Dwight Avenue for a number of years from 1872.

[73]: 120 In 1882 a school for boys, named Kirkland Hall, opened in the former White Seminary, vacant since the Clinton Liberal Institute moved to Fort Plain.

"[34]: 7 In 1884 a boarding and day school for girls was established, in a new building at the north-east corner of Marvin and Chestnut Streets.

[78]: 36  From 1920 to 1923 the 7th Day Adventist Church operated a boarding school for grades 7–10, called the Eastern New York Academy, on Brimfield Street.

In 2005 and 2006, Clinton's Cross Country team won back-to-back scholar athlete state championships.

Clinton's boys' soccer program won their first Section III title in 2006, and a second in 2011, for the first time advancing to the state semi-finals, as well as an undefeated regular season.

[90] According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), all land.

[93] Richmond's intent was that, with the accompaniment of US$800 (equivalent to $22,196 in 2023) worth of equipment donated by a R. W. Haskins of Buffalo, the Institute could build an observatory on the hill, but this plan never came to fruition.

They contain (212 items) the letters of a highly educated Clinton family, who were drawn to evangelical religion and progressive causes in the 1820-1830s.