Clifton, Virginia
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| Clifton, Virginia | |
  Clifton, Virginia
|
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| Coordinates: 38°46′48″N 77°23′11″W / 38.78°N 77.38639°W | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Virginia |
| County | Fairfax |
| Area | |
| - Total | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
| - Land | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 197 ft (60 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 185 |
| - Density | 723.7/sq mi (279.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 20124 |
| Area code(s) | 703 |
| FIPS code | 51-17376[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1495399[2] |
Clifton is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 185 in the 2000 census.
Clifton is 25.74 miles (41.42 km) away from Washington, D.C.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Colonial Era
[edit] Pre-Colonial Era
Before European settlers settled in the present day Clifton area, the area was part of hunting grounds that local Algonkian tribes used. Tribal lands were scattered all along to the nearby Occoquan. The area was mainly a swampy flood plain that wasn't nearly as forested as it is today.
[edit] Settling in Clifton
European settlers created the first nearby port settlement in the mid 1610's near present day Dumfries-Triangle area. Throughout the rest of the 17th century, plantations started to be built around modern day Fairfax County.
Clifton's first houses were built in 1740's, though at the time the area was known as Devereaux Station. South of the town was the Kincheloe Plantation. Clifton became the largest town in the county, developing a local store and roads accessing Centreville and Fairfax.
[edit] Pre-Civil War Era
In the boundaries of modern day Clifton, there were two railroad stations between Manassas Junction and Fairfax Station, there was Sangster's Station and the well known Deveruex Station, today there are two neighborhoods in Clifton named after the stations. A couple more homes were being built in Clifton with railroad options to go to Fairfax Station/Burke and to Manassas.
[edit] Civil War in Clifton
The town of Clifton, which was formally known as Devereux Station, was founded in 1863 along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, as an outcome of the American Civil War.
With Devereux Station being the most southern point of the Union Army and in between the means of transportation, the station played a key role in the Civil War. It was a major depot of supplies where trains were loaded with wood that was transported to the U.S. Military Railroad to use for burning in train engines.[3] Soldiers frequently marched through the town, fought small battles, and set up camps beside Popes Head Creek.[4] Union troops were housed in the town so that they could constantly be on the look out for the Confederates, who wanted to destroy the railroad. The majority of the action that took place along the O & A railroad during the war occurred around the area of Clifton.[5]
[edit] Construction of the Station
After the Confederates, who were under the command of General Robert E. Lee, defeated the Union Army at the Second Battle of Manassas, which was just a short distance from Clifton, the rail lines were in need of reconstruction. Herman Haupt a brigadier general and civil engineer from Pennsylvania stepped in to help reconstruct and operate the railroads that served the Union Army in Northern Virginia. He commissioned John Devereux, a Union railroad superintended from Alexandria after whom the town was originally named, to build the wye or railroad siding at Devereux Station along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. The O & A was a Virginia intrastate railroad that ran south-west through Clifton and had a significant role in the Civil war. It was incorporated into the Union’s U.S. Military Railroad system and was used to more efficiently transport soldiers and import supplies among the troops.[5]
[edit] After the War
After the Civil War ended, Devereux Station kept growing. In 1868, a commuter station was built and the name changed to Clifton Station when Harrison G. Otis, accredited as the original founder of Clifton, bought the land.[5] The next year Clifton became an official U.S. post office and Otis built the historic Clifton Hotel, which became a popular resort. The town continued to prosper there after, especially due to its fertile soil, widespread vineyards, and its accessible train station.[6] The station no longer exists today, but the historic town of Clifton is still standing along what used to be the O & A Railroad and is now a part of the Norfolk Southern Railway.
[edit] Becoming a Town
[edit] VGA Charter
The town was incorporated by the General Assembly on March 9, 1902. It became the first town in Fairfax County, and is currently one of only three towns in the county, the other two being Vienna and Herndon.
During the 1900s, the town was practically at its modern-day size. The first schoolhouse in Clifton was built on a 100-foot (30 m) hill overlooking the heart of the town. On March 9, 1930, the Clifton General Store caught fire, and a few months later a new general store was built in its place. In the 1940s, two homes were built.
[edit] Renovating the Town
By the late 1960s, the town was decaying. Many houses in the town were boarded up and abandoned. A local resident named Jim Chesley, who later would become the mayor of Clifton for over 14 years, and his friends started buying houses in town and cleaning up the homes to prevent the town from falling apart or being torn down. Eventually the town became an historic landmark.
In the 1960s, the town started its own holiday of Clifton Day. This celebration continues each year as a town fair with sales each October.
In 2000, Mayor Jim Chesley started a Labor Day antique car show in Clifton sponsored by the Northern Virginai 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. This 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, this event has raised nearly $120,000 for various local charities.
Mayor Chesley’s wife, Jennifer, coordinates the annual Clifton Candlelight Homes Tour held first Saturdays in December. The tour raises money for the town's beautification projects. Included are five homes decorated for the holidays, the Caboose, live music in the churches, and the traditional lighting of the Christmas tree in the Town Square, all located in the Historic Town of Clifton.
[edit] Preservation of Clifton
Towards the late 1970s and early 1980s development was starting to edge near Clifton. Communities such as Burke Centre and Little Rocky Run were constructed which began a thought that it may ruin the beauty of the town having neighborhoods and townhouses near or visible from the town. In the 1980s, a rule was set into place that only one building could be placed on 5-acre (20,000 m2) parcels that have not already been divided. This helped preserve the town and it grew a reputation of being upper class and ritzy because most of the houses were elegant single family homes being constructed in the southern and eastern parts of Clifton and north of Clifton were equestrian areas.
Proposals for the Monticello Freeway and the Northern Virginia Expressway which were never constructed, were proposed to make a largescale interchange near Clifton, ruining the preservation. The consequence results in severe traffic in the town.
Although it is thought it still became overdeveloped the area of Clifton is not as built up as neighboring communities such as present day Burke and Centreville.
[edit] Modern Day Clifton
[edit] The Second Update
There are still many families moving into the area despite disputes with contractors and developers. 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 5 acres (20,000 m2) 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 1986. The building and a replica home was finished in the Winter of 2007.
The Clifton Spring Homes Tour is run by the Clifton Community Woman's Club and is held third Thursdays in May. The 100-member Club raises money for local charities via a homes tour, silent auction, boutique, and local women's art show and sale.
[edit] Geography
Clifton is located at 38°46′48″N 77°23′11″W / 38.78°N 77.38639°W (38.780047, -77.386408).[7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²), all of it land. In reality, however, the town of Clifton is by definition one square mile. Popes Head Creek runs through the Town.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 185 people, 67 households, and 52 families residing in the town. The population density was 723.7 people per square mile (274.7/km²). There were 70 housing units at an average density of 273.8/sq mi (104.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.92% White, 0.54% Asian, 0.54% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.
There were 67 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 13.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the town, the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 134.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $111,048, and the median income for a family was $117,446. Males had a median income of $62,188 versus $47,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $47,459. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.
[edit] Communities In Clifton
Clifton is well known for its planned community, Little Rocky Run, which runs in the north borders of the Clifton district. The area is also known for Union Mills community. There are pleniful other communities of a small number of homes scattered around the town limits but witin district limits. Due to the way the roads in Clifton are made and a large number of teenagers from Centreville HS and Robinson HS, a number of fatal accidents involving teenage drivers have occurred over the past few years at a higher rate then other communities. Police enforcement has increased on the roads at certain times due to this risk.
[edit] Climate
Clifton has a warm-temperate climate with cool winters, mild falls and springs, and hot summers. July is usually the warmest, and wettest month. January is usually the coldest month. On average, February is the driest month. The warmest temperature set in Clifton was 104 °F (40 °C) on July 2, 1980. The coldest temperature was −8 °F (−22.2 °C) set on January 8, 1982.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily maximum temperature (nearest °F) | 43 | 46 | 58 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 59 | 47 | 67 | |
| Mean daily minimum temperature (nearest °F) | 22 | 25 | 33 | 41 | 51 | 60 | 65 | 63 | 56 | 44 | 36 | 21 | 45 | |
| Mean total rainfall (in.) | 2.59 | 2.46 | 2.77 | 2.92 | 3.71 | 3.23 | 3.11 | 3.16 | 3.33 | 3.08 | 3.12 | 2.72 | 36.20 | |
| Source: The Weather Channel | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Education
Fairfax County Public Schools serves Clifton.
Most students in Clifton will attend Clifton Elementary School[8], while middle and high school residents are zoned to Robinson Secondary School[9].
However, students in the Little Rocky Run area attend Union Mill Elementary School and will go to Liberty Middle School then Centreville High School.
[edit] Former Schools
- Clifton High School: existed from 1912 and was torn down in 1944, after the construction of Fairfax High School.
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] Parks
- Bull Run Marina Regional Park
- Chapel Road Park
- Clifton Town Park
- Fountainhead Regional Park
- Hemlock Overlook Regional Park
- Kincheloe Park
[edit] Golf Courses
- Twin Lakes GC
- Virginia Gold Center & Academy
- Westfields GC at Balmoral
[edit] Shopping Centers
- The Colonnade at Union Mill
[edit] Annual Events
[edit] January
- New Year's Day Celebration
[edit] February
- Lion's Club Pancake Breakfast
[edit] March
[edit] April
- Kids Day
[edit] May
[edit] June
- Clifton Caboose Twilight Run
[edit] July
- Fourth of July Celebration
[edit] August
- Clifton Homes Tour/petersons
[edit] September
- Labor Day Car Show
[edit] October
- Clifton Day
- Post Clifton Day Cleanup
[edit] November
- Townwide Cleanup
[edit] December
- Clifton Candlelight Homes Tour
- Clifton Christmas Tree
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Netherton, Nan and Wyckoff, Whitney Von Lake. Fairfax Station: All Aboard! 1995
- ^ A Brief History of Clifton, VA
- ^ a b c Netherton, Nan. Clifton: Brigadoon in Virginia. 1980
- ^ Historic Clifton Hotel
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://www.fcps.edu/images/boundarymaps/cliftones.pdf
- ^ http://www.fcps.edu/images/boundarymaps/robinsonss.pdf
[edit] Bibliography
Netherton, Nan. Clifton: Brigadoon in Virginia. Clifton Betterment Association, 1980.
Netherton, Nan and Wyckoff, Whitney Von Lake. Fairfax Station: All Aboard! Fairfax Station, 1995.
[edit] External links
- Clifton, Virginia is at coordinates 38°46′48″N 77°23′11″W / 38.780047°N 77.386408°WCoordinates: 38°46′48″N 77°23′11″W / 38.780047°N 77.386408°W
[edit] Famous Residents
- Oscar Scott Woody, sea postal clerk aboard Titanic, more about Oscar Scott Woody
