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The Clifton Hotel at "Clifton Station" was built in 1869 by Harrison G. Otis, whose family immigrated to the area from Ontario County, New York a year earlier. At the time of its construction, other buildings included a railroad station and a mill on Chapel Road. Years later, the hotel became a popular summer resort for families from Alexandria, Washington and Baltimore and was listed in the 1882 Excursion Guide of the Virginia Midland Railway. The Guide included a panoramic view of Clifton and referred to Clifton Springs, in Ontario County, New York as the source of the name for the new Virginia village. Up to fifty guests could be accommodated.

Harrison Otis was also the first postmaster of Clifton Station and operated a sawmill and vineyard. By 1892 Clifton Station was a thriving community that included two churches, a school, four stores, a wheelwright, an undertaker, a blacksmith shop and a "genteel and orderly" bar. Just outside of town were one of the finest soapstone quarries in the county, lumber years, farms and dairies.

Now known as The Hermitage Inn Restaurant, the Clifton Hotel has been faithfully restored to its original beauty and is on the State and National Registry of Historic Landmarks.

Please Note: Notecards currently available for purchase do not include the above description. The above expanded version will be used when these notecards are reprinted.

Drawing © 1993 Bill Harrah