Editing Clifton, Virginia (section)

===Civil War===
During the [[American Civil War|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, Virginia|Alexandria]]. Wood from hundreds of acres was cut and hauled by wood choppers and teamsters, most of whom were [[contraband|escaped enslaved people]], and transported by train to Alexandria. The laborers risked capture by working outside protected Union lines.<ref name="novahistory.org">{{cite web |url=http://novahistory.org/DevereuxSiding/DevereuxSiding.htm |title=Northern Virginia History Notes |work=novahistory.org}}</ref><ref>Netherton, Nan and Wyckoff, Whitney Von Lake. ''Fairfax Station: All Aboard!'' 1995</ref>

In spring 1863, a [[Wye (rail)|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 (Occoquan River)|Bull Run]]. By June 1863 the entire railroad outside of the [[Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War|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 States of America|Confederate]] attack.<ref name="novahistory.org"/><ref name="autogenerated1">Netherton, Nan. ''Clifton: Brigadoon in Virginia''. 1980</ref>

Devereux Siding was located between the station at Union Mills (near present-day [[Union Mill, Virginia|Union Mill]]) 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".<ref>Lynne Garvey-Hodge,''Images of America: Clifton,'' Arcadia Publishing, Charleston SC, 2009, p.34.</ref>

The O & A was the only railroad link between Alexandria and [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref name="autogenerated1" />

William E. Beckwith, whose 1200 acre [[William E. Beckwith House|plantation]] included much of the land now incorporated as Clifton,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cliftonva.gov/index_49_1256504561.pdf |title=Invisible No Longer: African American Roots in Clifton 
 |last=Khosravi |first=Margo |date= |website=Town of Clifton |access-date=July 24, 2024}}</ref> bequeathed his land south of the railroad to his former slaves, some of whom were his children. Harriet Harris and the five children she had with William Harris were devised the land where the village of Clifton was initially developed. [[Harrison G. Otis]], a [[New York City|New York]] realtor, purchased a large tract of land north of the railroad from the Beckwith estate and a small lot of land south of the railroad from William Harris, where he constructed a saw mill and train depot. The depot opened in November 1868 and was named "Clifton Station". The next year, an official U.S. post office opened at the depot, and Otis built the historic Clifton Hotel.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=http://novahistory.org/CliftonFormation/CliftonFormation.html |title=Formation of the Village of Clifton, Fairfax County Virginia |first=Debbie |last=Robison |website=novahistory.org |access-date=February 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080509144906/http://www.hermitageinnrestaurant.com/historic.htm Historic Clifton Hotel]}}</ref> Harrison Otis and his brother J. Sanford Otis founded the Clifton Presbyterian Church, still in existence.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The station no longer exists, but the town of Clifton is still standing along what used to be the O & A Railroad, now a part of the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]].

William Harris divided a portion of his family's land adjacent to the railroad into ten lots that were offered for sale in 1869. Homes and businesses were constructed on the lots, including a general merchandise store located on the western side of Main Street adjacent to the railroad. Harris expanded the village by selling additional lots along Main Street in the mid-1870s. Harrison Otis and his business partner Margaret Hetzel subdivided land on the eastern side of Main Street for development and several lots were sold in the 1870s; however, this development was not as successful as planned due to Harrison Otis's reduced mental health and Margaret Hetzel's financial difficulties.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The village grew in the late 1800s when a number of homes and businesses were constructed, including additional merchandise stores and lumber yards.