Клифтон, Вирджиния: История и современность маленького городка

Clifton is an incorporated town located in southwestern Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 243 at the time of the 2020 census. Incorporated by the General Assembly on March 9, 1902, Clifton is one of only three towns in the county, the other two being the much more populous Vienna and Herndon. Clifton's history begins pre colonially, when the area was used as hunting grounds by the local Dogue Native American tribe. A railroad siding was constructed here during the Civil War, and the area became titled as Devereux Station. A nearby neighborhood on the outskirts of the Clifton ZIP code has this name. Development of a village at the siding began in 1868 when a railroad depot, named "Clifton Station", was constructed. Unlike most areas in Northern Virginia, the land around Clifton is far less built up than nearby areas, especially to its east and southwest. This was out of the worry that overdevelopment near Bull Run and the Occoquan River would be environmentally damaging to the Occoquan Reservoir. Consequently, as development edged near the area in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an ordinance was enacted stating that only one building could be placed on parcels that have not already been divided. Today, the southern and eastern portions of the area are heavily forested, with single family homes, while the northern area has become equestrian areas.

Before the arrival of European settlers, the present day Clifton area was part of the hunting grounds used by Algonquin speaking members of the Dogue tribe. The Dogue lived in villages and towns along the Potomac River and nearby Occoquan River. They carved bowls out of soapstone found in the area. European settlers composed of Scots merchants created the first nearby port settlement in the mid 1710s near the present day Dumfries Triangle area. Land in the Clifton area began to be settled in the early 18th century.

During the Civil War, the United States Military Railroad Construction Corps built a railroad siding here on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in order to supply the Union Army with timber for railroad ties, bridge trusses, and firewood. The siding was named after John Henry Devereux, superintendent of military railroads that terminated in Alexandria. Wood from hundreds of acres was cut and hauled by wood choppers and teamsters, most of whom were escaped slaves, and transported by train to Alexandria. The laborers risked capture by working outside protected Union lines. In spring 1863, a wye was constructed at Devereux Siding to enable trains to turn around after the Union Army abandoned the Orange and Alexandria Railroad south of Bull Run. By June 1863 the entire railroad outside of the defenses of Washington was abandoned until the return of Major General George Meade's Army of the Potomac following their successful Gettysburg Campaign. New York infantry regiments were stationed at the siding in order to protect wood station operations and the railroad from Confederate attack. Devereux Siding was located between the station at Union Mills and Sangster's Station. Today, there are two neighborhoods outside of the town named after the Devereux and Sangster's stations. The Orange & Alexandria Railroad extended from Alexandria to Orange, Virginia. For a brief period near the close of the war, the siding became the sixth scheduled stop for passengers and freight and became known as "Devereux Station". The O & A was the only railroad link between Alexandria and Richmond, Virginia. Harrison Otis and his brother J. Sanford Otis founded the Clifton Presbyterian Church, still in existence. Daniel Kincheloe (1723 1785), whose grandfather immigrated from Ireland, was a landowner near the town and along Popes Head Creek. He was a captain in the militia in the French and Indian Wars and provided beef and other supplies to the revolutionary army during the Revolutionary War. He is buried in the Wickliffe/Kincheloe cemetery that is now part of the Hemlock Overlook Regional Park, adjacent to a park office. Among two wives, he had 11 children, including 7 sons. One of Daniel's descendants built the house in Clifton. Towards the late 1970s and early 1980s suburban development was starting to edge near Clifton. Communities such as Burke Center, with 5,500 homes, and Little Rocky Run, with 2,722 homes, were constructed, raising concerns that the new construction might ruin the beauty of the Clifton area. In the 1980s, Fairfax County government enacted an ordinance stipulating that only one building could be placed on parcels that have not already been divided. Single family homes were constructed in the southern and eastern parts of Clifton, while land to the north became equestrian areas. The town was declared a National Historic District by the US Department of the Interior in 1984. The opening scenes of Broadcast News were filmed in Clifton in 1986. Formation of the Occoquan Watershed in the 1970s limited development due to ecological concerns and required all houses in the area to have at least of land. This prevents nearly all development other than luxury single family homes. In 2002, a new community was built on the edge of town called Frog Hill. Controversy arose about demolishing the abandoned Hetzel home on the corner of Chapel Road and Pendleton Avenue in 2006. The building and a replica home were finished in the winter of 2007.

In 2000, then mayor Jim Chesley started a Labor Day antique car show in Clifton sponsored by the Northern Virginia Custom Cruisers and Clifton Lions clubs to raise money for local charities. The ninth annual Labor Day Car Show in 2008 attracted more than 400 antique cars, an estimated two thousand visitors, and raised over $30,000. That year's featured charity was Life With Cancer, a Fairfax hospital based program that provides family support and education. In the past five years alone, the event has raised nearly $120,000 for various local charities. The Clifton Spring Homes Tour is run by the Clifton Community Women's Club and is held on the third Thursday in May. The 100 member General Federation of Women's Club group raises money for local charities via home tours, silent auction, boutique, and local women's art show and sale. In 2020, the city made national headlines when a "Black Lives Matter" banner was hung in the town's Main Street. The banner was met with praise by many residents but condemnation by others including the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who saw it as justifying controversial aspects of the BLM movement. Her comments lead to media attention on the banner. The banner was stolen on July 20, 2020, and has not been found, despite a police investigation.

Clifton is located in western Fairfax County at (38.780047, −77.386408). 6 mile (10 km) southeast of Centreville and 7 mile (11 km) southwest of the city of Fairfax. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.57%, is water. The Charter of the town of Clifton affirms this statement. Popes Head Creek, a tributary of Bull Run, runs westward through the town.

Fairfax County Public Schools serves Clifton. K 6 students in Clifton attend Union Mill Elementary School, while middle and high school residents are zoned to either Liberty Middle School and Centreville High School or to Robinson Secondary School. Clifton was home to Clifton Elementary School from 1954 to 2011, when the school was closed after the School Board determined the cost of modernization for the 1950s era building to be too high. Clifton was home to Clifton High School from 1912 to 1935, when the school was torn down after the construction of Fairfax High School.

Access to Clifton provided solely by secondary routes, with SR 645 being the most prominent of them. Through Clifton, SR 645 enters from the northwest as Clifton Road, then turns right at Newman Road and follows Main Street to School Street. From there, it turns left onto School Street, then turns right and becomes Clifton Road again as it exits the town to the southeast. SR 645 provides connections to the nearest primary highways, U. S. Route 29 to the northwest and Virginia State Route 123 to the east. Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) both run frequent train service through Clifton. Amtrak runs multiple lines, including the Cardinal, Crescent, and Northeast Regional through the town. trains on these lines travel between Chicago Union Station, New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, Roanoke station (Virginia), Pennsylvania Station (New York City), South Station, and Springfield Union Station (Massachusetts). the VRE operates one train line through the town, the Manassas Line. This line travels between Broad Run station and Washington Union Station. VRE trains sometimes stop in the town at the Clifton station (VRE), however this is a rare occurrence that typically only takes place on the town's annual Clifton Day. As the stop is rarely used, no physical station structure exists. The closest VRE stations to the town that trains regularly stop at are the Manassas Park station and the Burke Centre station. The Burke Centre Station is also serviced by the Northeast Regional, one of the Amtrak train lines that runs through the town. The closest station to the town that services all train lines that pass through the town is the Manassas station. This station services Amtrak's Cardinal and Crescent services, while also servicing the Northeast Regional and the VRE's Manassas Line.

Listed points of interest are outside of the Clifton town limits, except for Ayre Square, Clifton Town Park and the Clifton Creek Trail Park. Ayre Square, Clifton Town Park, Clifton Creek Trail Park, and Randolph Buckley "8 Acre" Park are owned and operated by the Town of Clifton.

Clifton is served by The CentreView.