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Iowa County
Clinton County, Iowa
Clinton's Mississippi River sawmill heritage and the timber baron era - from Clinton's extraordinary 19th-century lumber wealth (in the 1880s, Clinton was the wealthiest city per capita in the United States - the lumber barons who controlled the Mississippi River sawmills that processed the vast white pine forests of Wisconsin and Minnesota built extravagant mansions along the bluffs above the river, and Clinton's Millionaire's Row reflected a concentration of wealth that rivaled any Gilded Age American city) to Beaver Island Trail and the Eagle Point Park's Mississippi River views.
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Office: Clinton County Emergency Management – Administration Building, 1900 N. 3rd Street, Clinton, IA 52733. Clinton County Emergency Communications Center dispatches for 4 law enforcement agencies, 8 ambulance services, and 17 fire departments countywide, staffed by 16 telecommunicators.
Sheriff: Clinton County Sheriff’s Office – 241 7th Avenue North, Clinton, IA 52732 | (563) 242-9211 | Toll-free (800) 462-6530 | Fax (563) 243-7993; Sheriff Bill Greenwalt. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM (dispatch 24/7).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-30 and US-67 serve Clinton, the county seat, on the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa.
Notes: Clinton County was established in 1837, named for DeWitt Clinton, seventh Governor of New York.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clinton County Courthouse – 612 N. 2nd Street, Clinton, IA (completed 1897) | (563) 243-6211. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM.
Notes: Clinton is genuinely remarkable as a former “Lumber Queen of the World.” Situated where railroads met the Mississippi River, the city processed roughly one-third of all lumber produced in the United States between 1865 and 1900, fed by massive log rafts floated downriver from Wisconsin’s white pine forests to meet nearly 20 sawmills; twin cities Clinton and Lyons together also hosted flour mills, distilleries, carriage shops, and foundries during this boom. Wealthy “lumber barons” built ornate mansions still standing today, most notably the George M. Curtis Mansion (built 1883, Queen Anne Victorian, National Register of Historic Places), featuring nine hand-carved fireplaces, a 55-foot main hall, and more than 40 stained-glass windows; each room showcases a different type of wood. By 1907, as Wisconsin’s forests were exhausted, the mills had closed. Clinton’s lumber heritage is preserved today at the Sawmill Museum, which uses animatronic “talking head” displays of historical lumber barons to tell the industry’s story. The city is also home to the Duke Slater Memorial Statue at Clinton High School, honoring one of the last African American NFL players before the league’s segregation era, who went on to become a respected judge.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clinton County Veterans Services – Administration Building, 1900 N. 3rd Street, Clinton, IA 52733 | (563) 242-1151.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Clinton Public Library (Clinton) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Sawmill Museum, the George M. Curtis Mansion, Eagle Point Park (a former lumber baron’s park with WPA-era amenities overlooking one of the widest points of the Mississippi River), and the Clinton Area Showboat Theater are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, well-documented “Lumber Queen of the World” history – and the ornate mansions it left behind – is among the richest pieces of Gilded Age industrial history covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clinton County Assessor’s Office – Administration Building, 1900 N. 3rd Street, Clinton, IA 52733 | (563) 244-0569.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Clinton Humane Society – 1473 Main Avenue, Clinton, IA 52732 | (563) 242-2457 | Email: [email protected]. Founded 1941; serves Clinton, Camanche, Charlotte, Preston, Grand Mound, Wheatland, Sabula, and DeWitt. City of Clinton Animal Control (in-city strays) – (563) 243-1458, 24/7.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clinton County Solid Waste/Environmental – confirm current contact via clintoncounty-ia.gov.
NOTES: Clinton County is the twenty-third county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, well-documented “Lumber Queen of the World” history – and the ornate mansions it left behind – is among the richest pieces of Gilded Age industrial history covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Clinton County
Clinton County is eastern Iowa’s Mississippi River timber baron county – the sawmill wealth that made Clinton the richest city per capita in America in the 1880s left a legacy of magnificent Victorian mansions along the river bluffs.
Clinton (the county seat, population ~24,000) retains its Mississippi River character – the Alliant Energy Amphitheater, the Clinton LumberKings baseball tradition, and the river bluffs define a community navigating post-industrial transition.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clinton County Assessor at 244 5th Avenue S., Clinton, IA 52732, phone 563-244-0569. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Clinton County District Court at 612 N. 2nd Street, Clinton, IA 52732, phone 563-243-6210, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
612 N. 2nd St., Clinton, IA 52732
(563) 244-0507
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clinton County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The county’s 19th-century lumber-milling heritage along the Mississippi River is a significant local historical topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Clinton County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clinton County District Court, 7th Judicial District 612 North 2nd Street, Clinton, IA 52732 (563) 243-6213
Clinton County sits on the Mississippi River across from Illinois, historically a major 19th-century lumber milling hub.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Clinton County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
612 N. 2nd St., Clinton, IA 52732
(563) 244-5500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
612 N. 2nd St., Clinton, IA 52732
(563) 244-0584
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
612 N. 2nd St., Clinton, IA 52732
(563) 244-0584
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Clinton County Health Dept
(563) 244-0572
Iowa DHHS — Region 7
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
MercyOne Clinton Medical Center
mercyone.org/clinton (major community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clinton County Health – Administration Building, 1900 N. 3rd Street, Clinton, IA 52733.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Clinton
Population: 45,000
Area: 695 sq mi
Established: 1837
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
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