History:

In 1899, two men, J. L. Avant and E. E. Blake, were waiting for a train at a station house in Western Oklahoma. They climbed on a boxcar to look over the countryside. The men agreed that the Washita River Valley was the perfect place to build a town. The town of Washita Junction would spring up almost overnight some four years later.

There were many obstacles for Avant and Blake to overcome in forming Washita Junction. A feud erupted between the men and the nearby town of Arapaho. The leaders of Arapaho knew that a new town so close by would take away from their businesses. They tried hard to stop Washita Junction from developing. Another major problem was that the law specified that an Indian could sell no more than half of his 160 acre allotment after he was granted permission to do so by Congress. So Avant, Blake, and their new partners Tom J. Nance and F. E. Richey, working in secrecy, picked 320 acres allotted to four different Indians and went to Washington D. C.

In 1902, Blake and his partners secured Congressional approval to purchase the land. Three buildings were already in existence when the town officially opened. One was the first newspaper, The Custer County Chronicle. The second was the First National Bank buidling at the corner of Fourth and Frisco. The other was the town site office building on Frisco Avenue a short distance west of the present location of Shamburg Sporting Goods.

Washita Junction grew very rapidly as the major railroad stop for Western Oklahoma. Due to this railroad access, the town soon earned the nickname, "Hub City." The postal department refused to accept the name Washita Junction for the new town. Therefore, "Clinton" was chosen in honor of the late Judge Clinton Irwin.

About Us:

The Clinton Chamber is the only local organization that works full-time to promote local businesses and tourism.  The Chamber serves many functions within our community.  These roles and tasks include business advocacy, support for economic development, serving as the tourism information center for Clinton, and promotion of local events.  The Clinton Chamber is the guardian of our local economy.