CLINTON  , a

village of Oneida county, New York, U.S.A., on the Oriskany Creek, about 9 m . S.W. of Utica . Pop . (1890) 1269; (1900) 1340; (1905) 1315; (1910) 1236 . It is served by the New York, Ontario & Western railway, and is connected with Utica by an electric line . Several fine mineral springs in the vicinity have given Clinton some reputation as a health resort . There are iron mines, blast furnaces, and iron smelters . Clinton is the seat of Hamilton College (non-sectarian), whichwas opened as the Hamilton Oneida Academy in 5798, and was chartered under its present name in 1812 . It was founded by the Rev . Samuel Kirkland (1741-1808), a missionary among the Oneida Indians; its corner-stone was laid by Baron Steuben; its shade trees were furnished by Thomas Jefferson; and its name was received from Alexander Hamilton, one of its early trustees . It had in 1907-1908 20 instructors, 178 students, and a library of 47,000 volumes and 30,000 pamphlets . At Clinton are also excellent minor schools .

Litchfield Observatory is connected with the college, and was long in charge of the well-known astronomer, Christian H . F . Peters (1813-189o), who discovered here more than 40 asteroids and made extensive investigations concerning comets . The village was settled about 1786 by pioneers from New England, was named in honour of George Clinton, and was incorporated in 1842 .