Over two hundred years ago the area which comprises the Town of Kirkland was a wilderness sparsely inhabited by Oneida and Brothertown Indians. Crisscrossed by Indian trails, it was occasionally visited by the Rev. Samuel Kirkland in his missionary duties and conferences with the Oneida Chief, Skenandoa.

Augustus Fake's store Clinton 1890

In 1787 New England settlers led by Moses Foot chose a spot not far from the Oriskany Creek for a new home, naming it Clinton after George Clinton, the first governor of New York. Part of Coxe's patent, it was the third settlement of consequence, after Whitestown and Westmoreland, in what later became Oneida County.

The new settlement was within the boundaries of Whitestown, which then comprised all the western part of New York State. In 1792 a large portion of it, including Clinton, became the Town of Paris. It was named for Isaac Paris of Fort Plain, who supplied grain for the hungry set­tlers at Clinton when food became scarce during the sec­ond season in their new home. The northern portion of the Town of Paris became the Town of Kirkland in 1827. Part of the township was at one time jointly owned by George Washington and George Clinton.

One of the earliest settlements in the town of Kirkland was Franklin, a mile south of Clinton. Dating from 1790, in 1867 after the erection of the blast furnaces, it officially became Franklin Iron Works. With the discovery of mineral springs in the 1890s, the name was again changed to Franklin Springs. Another early hamlet was Manchester, a stage stop on the Seneca Turnpike. Renamed Kirkland in 1829, it had a post office as early as 1815.

Railway depot and post office Clark Mills 1900

In the northernmost part of the township lies Clark Mills. It derives its name from the Clark family, who established cotton mills here on the banks of the Oriskany Creek in 1846. The first post office was opened in 1858 as Clark's Mills.

Setting the moral tone for the budding settlement of Clinton was the establishment of a Congregational Church in 1791, the first in the present Town of Kirkland. The Baptist Church, erected in 1832, now the home of the Clinton Historical Society, remains the oldest church building still standing in the town. The Methodists built a church on the eastern side of the village green in 1842. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1850. Their first church, of wooden construction, was completed in 1852-54 and replaced by the present handsome stone structure in 1912. St. James' Episcopal Church was organized in 1862 and construction was started the same year.

The town's educational heritage was begun in 1793 with the opening of Hamilton-Oneida Academy on the hill west of Clinton. Envisioned by Samuel Kirkland as a school for the education of whites and Indians, in 1812 it became Hamilton College.

Hermatite Mine

Iron ore was discovered early on the low hills east and west of the Oriskany Valley. Named Clinton hematite, this designation is still used throughout the mineral world wherever this type of ore is found. Mining was extensively pursued at various times during the 19th and part of the 20th century, resulting in the erection of sizable blast furnaces, since demolished, at both Franklin and Kirkland, as well as a factory for the manufacture of metallic paint, which made use of the ore's red pigment. The last mine closed in 1963.

Though dairy and truck farming are still important facets of the local economy, hop raising was once a flourishing agricultural pursuit. Light manufacturing has also occupied many of the town's residents. Woven cloth, furniture polish, push carts, plastics, tools, paint, grinding compounds, and a variety of knit goods are among the articles produced in the past.

Hind & Harrison Plush Co. Clark Mills

The stage coaches came early which crossed the township at Kirkland on the Seneca Turnpike on their way west, and those north and south which used the Waterville and Utica Plank Road (1848-1877). The Chenango Canal (1836-1878) furnished the first economical freight movement. The first railroad, the Utica, Clinton and Binghamton, arrived in 1866, followed in 1871 by the Rome and Clinton. Trolley service between Clinton and Utica was inaugurated in 1901 and was replaced by buses in 1936.

The Clinton Fire Department, established in 1866 is located in its own firehouses: one, built in 1921, on North Park Row, Clinton, the other near Franklin Springs, built in 1967. The Clark Mills Fire Department was organized in 1955.

The town's interest in sports, particularly ice skating, hockey and figure skating, resulted in the erection of the Clinton Arena in 1948 and its rebuilding in 1953 after fire destroyed the original structure. Clinton's hockey teams have carried its name with distinction throughout this country and Canada.

Kirkland has had its share of prominent men. Some of the more notable were Elihu Root, former Secretary of State and international statesman, Clinton Scollard, author and poet, and Thomas Hastings, prominent 19th century composer of religious music, including the hymn “Rock of Ages.”