East Clinton Historic District
Composed largely of residential structures built circa 1870-1940, the East Clinton Historic District includes:
- East College Street
- East Main Street
- Landrum Street
- Prospect Street
Ratliff Motor Company
Currently occupied by Fancy Formals dress shop and The Cupboard, 300 E. College St. was occupied in the 1930s by Ratliff Motor Company. Owned by prominent Clintonian brothers Fred and Ed Ratliff, the company sold delivery vans. In the 1920s, the Ratliff brothers operated a gas station out of what was once Capt. Lewis’s livery stable at 303 Jefferson Street in Olde Towne. The family also owned nearby house 306 E. College Street.
Architectural Significance of Ratliff Motors
Ratcliff Motors building is a well-preserved example of a corner-site, undercut canopy service station and automotive show room. It reflects the development of the automobile culture in the small towns of Mississippi and the need to provide support services for the emerging traveling public which passed through the district on East College Street, the original alignment of U.S. Highway 80.
Residential Structures
The earliest residences in the East Clinton Historic District were built in the 1870s and 1880s employing traditional floor plans surviving from the Antebellum era, much like many other smaller communities in Mississippi and the South in general.
Single-family residential building types in the district include examples of center hall cottages, side hall townhouses, composite cottages, homestead houses, bungalows, Capes, and English cottages. These buildings were detailed with features representing the Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Craftsman, Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles of architecture. Multi-family dwellings found in the district include double-shotgun and quadruple plans detailed with Craftsman elements.
Center Hall Cottages
Three of the four residences in the district built before 1900 have a Center Hall Cottage plan, indicating the popularity of this traditional plan among builders and property owners. The center hall plan was ideally suited to the climate of the South by providing cross-ventilation during the heat of the summer months.
Craftsman Bungalows
The East Clinton Historic District developed during the height of the popularity of the Craftsman-styled bungalow. The district has the highest concentration of bungalows in Clinton.
Factors Influencing Design
The Clinton and Vicksburg Railroad opened in 1836, creating long-standing ties between them and Clinton adopting some of the more “urban” townhouse plans of Vicksburg, like the residence at 301 East Main Street, a rare example of the side hall townhouse floor plan.
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