HISTORY THREAD
City Directories and History: It was founded as the Clinton Institute in 1894 and named after Bishop Caleb Isom Clinton, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church‘s Palmetto Conference presiding bishop at the time. On June 22, 1909, it was incorporated as Clinton Normal and Industrial Institute.
Clinton College was one of many schools established by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church during Reconstruction years, to help eradicate illiteracy among
Image of Clinton College in 1952 – City Without Cobwebs
freedmen. Clinton is the oldest institution of higher education in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The College has operated continuously for 120 years. In 1894, Presiding Elder Nero A. Crockett and Rev. W.M. Robinson founded Clinton Institute and named it for Bishop Caleb Isom Clinton, the Palmetto Conference presiding bishop at the time.
Incorporated as Clinton Normal and Industrial Institute on June 22, 1909, the school was authorized to grant state teacher certificates. By the late 1940’s, the College attracted 225 students per year and owned approximately 19 acres, several buildings, and equipment valued at several million dollars. Under Dr. Sallie V. Moreland, who retired in 1994 after 47 years of stellar service, the school charter was amended to create Clinton Junior College. When Dr. Cynthia L. McCullough Russell assumed leadership, the school prepared for accreditation, attained during the tenure of Dr. Elaine Johnson Copeland.
Clinton Institute in 1910 pictured on the Walker Postal Map of York County, S.C.
May 2013, the Transnational Association for Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) approved the College to offer two four-year programs; a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. In view of the four-year programs, the school’s name was changed from Clinton Junior College, to Clinton College. (Information from the college’s Wikipedia Site – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Junior_College)
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The history of the school was published in 1952 in the City Without Cobwebs, which stated: “Clinton Normal and Industrial College was established in 1894 as the Clinton Normal and Industrial Institute. Its two founders were Noah A. Crockett and the Reverend W. M. Robinson. It has always occupied the site on Crawford Road (named for Dr. Tom Crawford who lived on Hampton St., where the current RH City Hall stands – 2015), where in the beginning
Bobby Plair of Rock Hill who taught music at Clinton College.
Captain W. L. Roddey and Captain L. M. Davis (business leaders in Rock Hill’s downtown community), each gave two acres of land. This campus has grown to nineteen acres. When the school first opened its doors, only twenty-five pupils and one teacher were on hand. From this it has grown to 225 students and several buildings, which, with their equipment, are valued at a quarter of a million dollars.”
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