Clifton

History

Clifton was founded in the winter of 1852–1853, when the families of Frank Kell, Joseph A. Kemp, Samuel and Monroe Locker, and T. A. McSpadden settled in the vicinity. The town was named Cliff Town after the surrounding limestone cliffs. Over the years, the name was altered to Clifton. The site was originally on the banks of Clear Branch. The Masonic Lodge hall and a log schoolhouse were the first public buildings. The post office was established in 1859. The First Presbyterian Church of Clifton was organized in 1861 and is the county's oldest church in continuous service. The Baptists built the first church building in Clifton in 1884–1885. After the Civil War, Joel Martin Stinnett, the grandfather of Joseph Kemp, built a flour mill powered by the Bosque River. In 1868, this mill was replaced by a limestone mill, which was converted to the electric power plant that provided the first electricity for Clifton homes and businesses. A three-story school known as Rock School was built around 1870 and served the community for more than 20 years. In 1893, a new building was constructed on property donated to the Clifton school system. In 1880, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built a station a mile south of Clifton. Merchants moved their businesses closer to the railroad station, and the town thrived as a business and trade center. The Merchant Exchange and Flour Mill, the first steam flour mill in the Bosque valley, was established in 1887 or 1888. The Clifton Record, a newspaper that began publishing in 1895 under the ownership of W. C. O'Brian, continued to serve the community. Clifton served as the county seat between 1890 and 1892. Clifton Lutheran College, later known as Clifton College, opened in 1896. The community was incorporated in 1901. An earlier attempt…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Clifton has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,056
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,485
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,239
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,217
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,106
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  855
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  782
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  695

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2024-05-01
  7 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-01
  7 km S of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2019-10-01
  8 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2019-07-08
  4 km SSE of Rendon, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2018-05-19
  8 km NW of Venus, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2016-09-12
  5 km NNW of Venus, Texas