A reminder of what small towns can be; Downtown Clinton, Mo., is a model of reclaimed history

CLINTON, Mo. - A visitor entering Clinton's town square can't help but cross at least one set of railroad tracks, yet unless this is pointed out, he might never take note of these last remnants of the town's 19th-century rail heyday. Nor would a visitor be likely to know that this town of 9,200 once billed itself as "The Baby Chick Capital of the World" except for the hand-painted facade pointing this out. The facade adorns the brick wall outside a beauty shop and is one of several recently painted on buildings about this historic downtown square. In its 165-year history Clinton has seen a remarkable range of economic forces and memorable businesses come and go. The chick hatcheries and nearby coal mine were big industries in their time. The area's clay reserves once spurred a pottery trade. And Clinton was also the home of Lawrence W. Brown, the inventor of Chinese checkers and a prolific seller of fireworks. In rural America the loss of old industry often has foreshadowed the doom of old downtowns. The story is familiar: Residents gravitate to the city limits to shop at massive new supermarkets and discount stores, while downtown withers. Clinton, however, resisted and ultimately overcame this trend. Partly it was aided by geography. The city is the governmental and professional center of a vast, sparsely populated area, not to mention the gateway to Truman Reservoir and Lake of the Ozarks. But it was the citizens of Clinton who, beginning in the 1980s, embarked on an ambitious campaign to reclaim its downtown square. Their success is reflected throughout the now-thriving district and was rewarded last year in a White House ceremony, at which Clinton was honored as an "All-America City," one of 10 cities - and one of the smallest - chosen by the National Civic League in its 51st annual competition of outstanding communities. Today Clinton is neither an overly refurbished tourist trap nor a sad reminder of what small towns used to be. Instead it occupies middle ground: a progressive town built on layers of history, a place that serves its citizens yet is attractive to outsiders. "Coming from a large city, I see a huge sense of community and a lot of pride in making this place nice," says Jennifer McWilliams, who moved here from Minneapolis seven years ago with her husband. McWilliams is co-owner of the Ben Franklin Coffee House, the latest example of Clinton's civic spirit. Two longtime residents of Clinton, Marcia and Jay Olson, bought and completely remodeled the building, a fixture on the town square that previously housed a clothing store, a five-and-dime and a saddle shop. Earlier this year they sold the coffeehouse to McWilliams and another local woman, Allison Wetzel. The Ben Franklin screams upscale customer, featuring a beautifully restored tin ceiling and wooden floor, retro furniture and $6 gourmet sandwiches. It's a frilly addition to a practical-minded block that has clothing stores and a Dollar General. "We are striving for, as you call it, more upscale retail shops in our district," says Marsha Dark, who manages Clinton Main Street, the nonprofit organization formed in 1989 that has spearheaded the area's renaissance. "But more importantly, there should be a proper mix of businesses that complement each other." Named for DeWitt Clinton, the New York governor who built the Erie Canal, Clinton was made the seat of Henry County in 1836 by a board of commissioners that included the son of Daniel Boone. At the turn of the 20th century, three rail lines overlapped Clinton. You've probably heard only of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas, or MKT - the "Katy" Railroad. Today Clinton is the western terminus of the Katy Trail, a biking and hiking route that winds 225 miles to St. Charles, making it the nation's longest rails-to-trails project. The trail head is actually at Clinton's northeast edge, more than a mile from downtown. Just off the town square, the Henry County Museum is a sprawling, immaculately kept collection of the area's history. Much of it is housed in an 1886 building that originally was a distribution hub for Anheuser-Busch. Next door the restored 1887 Henry County Bank building is a performing arts center. Farther down the street the museum has assembled a replica of a pioneer homestead, including a genuine 1856 log house that served as a stagecoach stop. Clinton's more recent history is a tale of survival. Big retailers such as Wal-Mart moved in, settling on the other end of town. The square's retail shops began to move away or close down. At its nadir in the 1980s, 20 percent of downtown shops were empty. White-collar businesses - insurance agents, lawyers - moved in to fill the gap. Meanwhile, city leaders applied to the Missouri Main Street program for help, and Clinton was made a pilot Main Street program. This qualified the town for grants and training from experts in downtown revitalization. The work has paid off: Occupancy is now 98 percent in the town square. Many of the businesses have new awnings, signage and coats of paint. Nor is the progress limited to the city center. Development is brisk on the east end of Clinton, and the city has in recent years built a community center and convention facility, as well as an airy new home for the Henry County Library just off the town square. And while the baby-chick farms may be a distant memory, the Clinton economy now features employers such as the Holmes Group, which makes the Rival Crock-Pot. It employs several hundred workers here, as do cheese maker Schreiber Foods and the Golden Valley Memorial Hospital, an important area medical center. Clinton is big enough to support its own daily newspaper but small enough that a recent afternoon edition featured a front-page photograph of the mayor, Gus Wetzel, also a physician, in scrubs, holding a baby boy he delivered that morning at the hospital. (The paper noted that it was the mayor's birthday, his 60th.) Meanwhile, the work continues downtown. Dark, Clinton Main Street's manager, says the group has applied for a Neighborhood Assistance Program grant. This would give tax incentives to people and businesses who pay for improvements on the square. "This process of restoration, preservation and revitalization is never-ending," Dark says, "if Clinton is to continue to grow and remain strong." You can reach Aaron Barnhart, television writer, at (816) 234-4790 or www.tvbarn.com. Heartland favorites This spring readers of The Star's Travel section gave us their choices for the best small-town and rural destinations in the Midwest. We're profiling six of them this summer. On July 8 we explored the Swedish history of Lindsborg, on the central Kansas plains. It's an ambitious place, taken over this summer by horses. Last Sunday we visited Ashland, Neb., whose small-town image belies its Wild West past. Today we're in Clinton, Mo., once called "The Baby Chick Capital of the World." Next week: Rocheport, Mo., where history meets the Katy Trail. Aug. 5: Chase County, Kan., home of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Aug. 12, Orange City, Iowa, where Dutch influence is strong. To catch up on earlier stories, visit www.kcstar.com/fyi/travel/travel.htm. @ART CAPTION:A mural on the corner of the town square in Clinton, Mo., proclaims a piece of local history. At one time the area had many chicken-hatching farms. @ART CAPTION:The bandstand is a focal point on the lawn of the Henry County Courthouse in downtown Clinton, Mo. @ART:Photos (2, color and b/w) @ART CREDIT:JOHN SLEEZER/The Kansas City Star