William E. Beckwith 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 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. Harrison Otis and his brother J. Sanford Otis founded the Clifton Presbyterian Church, still in existence. 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.