Editing Clinton, Tennessee (section)

=== Early history ===
Prehistoric [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] habitation was common throughout the [[Clinch River]] valley, especially during the [[Woodland period]] (1000 B.C. – 1000 A.D.) and the [[Mississippian culture|Mississippian period]] (1000–1550 A.D.). A number of such habitation sites were excavated in the 1930s and 1950s in anticipation of the construction of [[Norris Dam]] and [[Melton Hill Dam]], respectively. The Melton Hill excavations uncovered two substantial Woodland period villages along the Clinch at Bull Bluff and Freels Bend, both approximately {{convert|20|mi|km}} downstream from Clinton.<ref>Glyn DuVall, "[http://www.eh.doe.gov/NEPA/ea/EA1548/appxa.pdf A Phase I Archaeological Survey of Proposed Potable Water Storage and Force Main Facilities, Y-12 National Security Complex Site, Anderson County, Tennessee]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}."  August 2005.  Retrieved: February 21, 2008.</ref>

[[File:Clinton-tennessee-1939-tva1.gif|left|210px|thumb|View of Clinton in 1938]]

By the time Euro-American explorers and [[Longhunter|longhunters]] arrived in the Clinch valley in the mid-18th century, what is now Anderson County was part of a vast stretch of land claimed by the [[Cherokee]].<ref>Snyder Roberts, "[http://www.roanetn.com/anderson.htm Historical Background of Anderson County, TN] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511153911/http://www.roanetn.com/anderson.htm |date=2008-05-11 }}," originally published in ''History of Clinton Senior High School'', 1971.  Retrieved: February 21, 2008.</ref> Although the [[Treaty of Holston]], signed in 1791, was intended as a negotiation with the Cherokee to prohibit Euro-American settlement of the area including what is today Anderson County, the treaty became ineffective as more settlers moved through the [[Appalachian Mountains]] from [[Virginia]] and [[North Carolina]] into Tennessee. The earliest settlers in Anderson County included the Wallace, Gibbs, Freels, Frost and Tunnell families. The flooding of white settlers into the Indian domain was cause for several skirmishes, which eased after the [[Treaty of Tellico]] in 1798 (including an origination point for the land to be relinquished from the Cherokee being the [[Tellico Blockhouse]]) allowed for greater ease in settling the area.<ref>{{cite book |last= Overholt |first= James |title= [[Anderson County, Tennessee]] |publisher= [[The Donning Company]] |year= 1989 |isbn= 0-89865-770-9 |pages=13–20}}</ref>

Founded in 1801, the town of Burrville was named in honor of [[Aaron Burr]], first-term [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] under [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Land was selected and partitioned for a courthouse, and Burrville was designated as the county seat for the newly formed Anderson County. The county was partitioned from portions of [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger County]] and [[Knox County, Tennessee|Knox County]] in 1801; neighboring [[Roane County, Tennessee|Roane County]] was also formed from a portion of Knox County in 1801.<ref>{{cite book |last= Wells |first= Emma Middleton |title= History of Roane County, Tennessee, Volume 1 |publisher= The Lookout Publishing Company |year= 1927 |isbn= 0-8063-8003-9 |pages=9–11}}</ref>

On November 8, 1809, by an act of the Tennessee State Legislature, the town of Burrville was renamed because of the disgrace of the [[Burr–Hamilton duel]], which resulted in the death of [[Alexander Hamilton]]. The selection of the name "Clinton" was most likely to honor [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] or his nephew, [[DeWitt Clinton]].<ref>Tara Mitchell Mielnik, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=23 Anderson County]." ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009.  Retrieved: February 11, 2013.</ref> George Clinton was one of Burr's New York political rivals who, along with [[Alexander Hamilton]], destroyed Burr's bid for the governorship of New York after his single-term vice presidency. George Clinton succeeded Burr as the second-term vice president for Jefferson in 1805 (and also served as [[James Madison]]'s vice president, making Clinton the first vice president to serve under two presidents and the first vice president to die in office). Because of the political position of George Clinton as vice president at the time of Burrville's name change, compared to DeWitt Clinton's position as the mayor of [[New York City]], most likely the residents of the town of Burrville would have been more readily identifiable and more honorable toward George Clinton than DeWitt; therefore, it is most likely Clinton was named after George Clinton, barring historical proof.