Clinton County (pop. 75,382) is west of Shiawassee County. It’s one of nine Clinton counties in the U.S. and one of seven named for Dewitt Clinton (1769-1828), the governor of New York who was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal.

The other two were named for his uncle George.

The county seat of Clinton County is the city of St. Johns (pop. 7,865).

St. Johns calls itself “The Mint Capital of the World” because of the many mint farms in the area. The city has an annual Mint Festival in August.

The festival mascot

Sleepy Hollow State Park is southeast of St. Johns. The park was established in 1974.

Lake Ovid

In the village of Ovid (pop. 1,603), the First Congregational Church (1872) is on the National Register of Historic Places. It became a private residence in 1979.

Gothic Revival style

The village of Elsie (pop. 966) has a statue of Elsie the Cow outside the village hall.

Anatomically a bull

The unincorporated community of Bath was the site of the deadliest mass murder at a school in U.S. history. In 1927, Andrew Kehoe set off an explosion at Bath Consolidated School that killed 38 elementary school children.

Six adults also died.

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