Clinton County, Michigan
county in Michigan, United States
Clinton County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 79,128. The county seat is St. Johns. The county was created in 1831 and organized in 1839. It is named after early American politician DeWitt Clinton. Clinton County is included in the Lansing-East Lansing, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 566 square miles (1,470 km2) is land and 8.1 square miles (21 km2) (1.4%) is water.
Adjacent counties
Saginaw County (northeast)
Gratiot County (north)
Montcalm County (northwest)
Shiawassee County (east)
Ionia County (west)
Ingham County (southeast)
Eaton County (southwest)
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 79,128. The median age was 40.0 years; 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Clinton County, Michigan” as county in Michigan, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county in Michigan, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q94669. VIAF identifies the subject as 158287002. The Library of Congress control number is n81091938. Authority coordinates are 42.940, -84.610. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1831 and 1839.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clinton County, Michigan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Clinton County, Michigan primary sources, Clinton County, Michigan archive and Clinton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Clinton County, Michigan”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Clinton County, Michigan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.