The city of Clinton might still be a small hamlet named New York if it were not for geographical good fortune. Platted as the town of New York in 1836 by its first settler, Joseph Bartlett, the community was one of several that clustered on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Other communities were Lyons, Ringwood, Chancy and Camanche.

The fledgling settlement had little hope of growth . In 1839, it consisted of a sprinkling of cabins, two stores and a tavern. Lyons, to the north, where a ferry had been established by Elijah Buell, grew at a healthy pace. Lyons was first a mill town with grain and flour mills before being recognized for its lumber potential.

Throughout the 1840 New York changed little while communities around it continued to develop. However, in 1855, the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad changed its plans and announced it would cross the river at Little Rock Island adjacent to Bartlett

In the early 1800, not everyone could afford passage on the steamboats which paddled the Mississippi bringing goods and people to Clinton County. Some came by horse-drawn wagons; others walked the many miles.
Among the walkers in 1835 was Dr. George Peck. When he came upon a high bluff on the west river bank, he thought it ideal for a great city and set about platting it. He named his town after an Indian tribe, but misspelled it. Camanche, with its erroneous


That same year, Martin Dunning arrived from Chicago with a load of general merchandise and became the first businessman to settle in Camanche. Peck