Clifton, VA

Clifton is a Fairfax County town of 243 people at the 2020 census, tucked along Popes Head Creek in southwestern Virginia. Before the railroad, the area was used as hunting grounds by the Dogue. The town's modern story starts with the Orange and Alexandria Railroad: a Civil War siding called Devereux Station became Clifton Station in 1868, and the General Assembly incorporated Clifton in 1902.

That railroad past is still visible in the town's old houses, Main Street storefronts, caboose, and historic district. Harrison Otis helped develop the postwar settlement, ran a hotel in the former station building, and helped turn the place into a retreat for Washington-area visitors. Town Park, Clifton Creek Trail Park, Ayre Square, and Popes Head Creek provide the in-town landmarks, while the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail and regional parks sit nearby. Clifton is small enough for the rail line, creek, and handful of streets to tell the whole orientation story, even after the trains stopped running.