Updated 03/05/19.
This is a summary of older books and atlases pertaining to Clinton County which are available online. For a fuller listing including those only available in print, see the Indiana State Library's guides to
County Histories and
Maps.
Index
This is a searchable index I made which covers all the major county histories and the historical atlases that include biographies. Mostly I just transcribed the original indexes from the books, with some improvements, but I did actually index the 1903 "20th Century Atlas of Clinton County" myself. Note that these indexes only cover the names of the subjects of biographies and those photographed--not the many other names mentioned within the biographies themselves. For that, you have to use the WPA/Indiana State Library index listed below.
This is an enormous index from the WPA/Indiana State Library covering most of the material listed below, but sadly the text is too blurry for the optical character recognition to work well, so you can't use the search function and get reliable results--you have to scroll through to find what you're looking for. A great project would be to transcribe this whole thing, or at least the last names, for easier searching, but at 300 pages, that's a big job. For now, I have modified it from the
original to add quick-links to jump to each letter for easier digital use. Please note that this does not cover the 1903 "20th Century Atlas" listed below, which has many bios in it that may be of interest. For that, you can use the index I made (above).
County Histories
The first (that I know of) Clinton County history and a wonderful resource. Link above is to Google Books, but a
different scan is available at Archive.org. (The latter is prettier, but the Google Books version is better for printing.)
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| illustration from 1886 history |
Not to besmirch the hard work of the Honorable Judge Claybaugh, but much of this book is a rewording (or simple copying) of the 1886 book, with material added, at least in the township histories that I've read. Also: beware that there is
another scan of this on Archive.org, but it is actually only the biographical sections, minus the general historical material. The only indication of this on that scan is that someone has penciled in "Biographical Volume 2" on the title page, although it should probably tip you off that the first numbered page reads 368.
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| photo from 1913 history |
Maps and Atlases
Not a book or atlas, so I'm cheating, but a web application I created for automatically generating maps of the original land patent owners in the area.
One large map with inserts showing detailed layouts of many towns, including Frankfort, Rossville, Mulberry, Hamilton, Penceville (later to become Kilmore), and many others. Also gives population size, business directory, and illustrations of courthouses.
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| Inset from 1865 atlas |
This is not specific to Clinton County, but it obviously includes Clinton County, and even has some detailed plat maps of Rossville, Cofax, Frankfort, etc. Also wonderful illustrations of Lafayette, Carroll County, etc., in the same style as the 1878 Atlas. Also available at the
David Rumsey collection.
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| Image from Rumsey scan of 1876 Atlas |
This is a great one full of many wonderful illustrations of homes, farms, and people. Shame that there is not a better version of it online (this one is a so-so scan from microfilm) and none outside a paywall.
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| Illustration from 1878 atlas |
These fire insurance maps not only give an accurate layout of the town, but extreme details on particular buildings, including their dimensions, material, and what each room is used for. It even shows locations of stoves, etc. They are a truly incredible resource and really give you the feeling of what towns were like back then. Unfortunately, the only ones I've been able to find for Clinton County are for Frankfort and Colfax.
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| Detail from 1887 Frankfort Sanborn map |
Full of photographic portraits with small bios and a wonderfully bizarre full-page ad for a Frankfort funeral home. Searchable via the
index I made for it or my
master Clinton County Index.
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| Photograph from 1903 atlas |
This pairs very brief thumbnail histories of each county with a nicely detailed map depicting the location of many schools.
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| Note the abundance of schools marked on this 1917 atlas |
This one has the distinction of originating not with a Chicago company but the Frankfort Morning Times. It includes a history of World War I and some interesting photographs and illustrations pertaining to the war, along with an honor roll of Clinton County's soldiers in WWI. Most of its local information, however, is limited to the plat maps.
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| Small section of Ross Township map |
A simple plat book from the archives of IUPUI.
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| Detail from 1920ish plat book |
This is an incredible tool for looking at the parcel divisions, right of way data, etc., and discerning the original layouts of small rural towns.
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