Photo: JJBers Public · CC BY-SA 4.0

History · Clifton Park

Clifton Park’s post office opened in 1832, and 11 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #603 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Clifton Park was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 46 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1830.

1832first post office

11on the National Register

3%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

8famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Clifton Park’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Clifton Park began

When was Clifton Park founded?

1832

The Clifton Park post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Jonesville (1819), Rexford Flats (1825) and Vischer Ferry (1833), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,494 in 18302020 census: 38,029194 years

How historic is Clifton Park?

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Clifton Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Clifton Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clifton Park is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #603 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clifton Park’s overall grade.

Founding era1832, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 19402.6% of homes (±0.9) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National Register11 listings, 62 historic buildings, 16.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%

NewerOlder

New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 20%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clifton Park’s 16.3 sits near the middle of its state (53% of New York towns have fewer) while its 62 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Clifton Park’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Clifton Park, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1980. Watch Clifton Park change.

★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Clifton Park’s post office has been open since 1832. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jonesville

1819–1972

Rexford Flats

1825–1911

Clifton Park

1832–today

Vischer Ferry

1833–1934

Grooms Corners

1848–1895

Elnora

1891–1976

Ballston Lake

1892–today

Rexford

1911–today

18101920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Ballston LakeClifton Park CenterCountry KnollsElnoraFlagler CornersGroom CornersJonesvilleRexfordVischer Ferry

Gone or out of use

School Number 9school

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clifton Park

Clifton Park BaptistGrooms Methodist ChurchJonesvilleMillious Dutch Reformed ChurchVischer Ferry

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Clifton Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clifton Park’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewMohawk Towpath Byway - Children and She…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Clifton Park, census by census

Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clifton Park’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Clifton Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clifton Park.

Read it all →

The Indigenous Mohawks and Mohicans referred to the area as Canastigione, meaning corn flats. The first settlements in what is now Clifton Park were established in the 17th century. The town or area was named in 1707 by Nanning Harmansen. At that time, Nanning Harmansen sent letters to Lord Cornbury requesting letters of Patent for Land he bought from the Indigenous Americans. He also stated in this correspondence that he wanted the patent to be known by "Your name of Cliftons Park", and the patent was named the Clifton Park Patent. The Iroqouis name for the Clifton Park Patent was Shenendehowa (meaning "Great Plains") which is where the school district gets its name.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Clifton Park, 1878–1893

Passages that mention Clifton Park, cut from the printed page as they were published.

the Erie canal. The following year he became weighm aster on the canal, and in 1856 purchased and moved upon a farm in the town of Clifton Park, Saratoga county, where he rerided until 1861, when he removed to the village of Clifton Park. Here he has resided ever since, engaged in auctioneering and… — **History of Saratoga County, New York**1893 · page 450Read the page →
Read the text
the Erie canal. The following year he became weighm aster on the canal, and in 1856 purchased and moved upon a farm in the town of Clifton Park, Saratoga county, where he rerided until 1861, when he removed to the village of Clifton Park. Here he has resided ever since, engaged in auctioneering and settling up estates. In 1861 he was elected jus-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**History of Saratoga County, New York**1893 · page 482Read the page →
Read the text
son, the subject of this sketch. He served with honor and distinction in the war of 1812, was a whig in politics, and was the third clerk of the town of Clifton Park. In religion he was a Baptist, and for many years served as clerk of the Clifton Park Baptist church.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

of Anthony's Kill. Smithtown, from the number of Smith families that live in that vicinity. Crescent retains the early designation, — the synonym for half-moon. Clifton Park, partly in the town of Clifton Park, takes its name from the latter. 3Iiddletown, lying between Waterford and Crescent, seems… — **History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers**1878 · page 348Read the page →
Read the text
of Anthony's Kill. Smithtown, from the number of Smith families that live in that vicinity. Crescent retains the early designation, — the synonym for half-moon. Clifton Park, partly in the town of Clifton Park, takes its name from the latter. 3Iiddletown, lying between Waterford and Crescent, seems to have had this name without any particular reason. It is now assuming the name of Half-Moon, which, indeed, has been the post-oiEce name for years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

dletown and this are successors of the old Newtown church that was dissolved some years ago. That old church had its house of worship at the four corners by the cemetery, near the present residence of John Baker. Clifton Park village was an out-station, at which preaching was established for some t… — **History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers**1878 · page 352Read the page →
Read the text
dletown and this are successors of the old Newtown church that was dissolved some years ago. That old church had its house of worship at the four corners by the cemetery, near the present residence of John Baker. Clifton Park village was an out-station, at which preaching was established for some time before the formation of a society by the pastors of the First Baptist church of Clifton Park, and under the labors of Elder F. S. Parke, assisted by Elder Parmalee,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Clifton Park, 1789 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

18th century
1789BuiltNathan Garnsey House is built
19th century
1815BuiltAbraham Best House is built
1819Post officeThe Jonesville post office opens
1825Post officeThe Rexford Flats post office opens
1832Post officeThe Clifton Park post office opens
1857Born hereEmma Lee Benedict is born here
1860BuiltJonesville Store is built
1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1896BuiltMohawk Valley Grange Hall is built
20th century
1911Post officeThe Rexford Flats post office closes
1969Born hereGreg Koubek is born here
1970Born hereMitzi Johnson is born here
1972Post officeThe Jonesville post office closes
1985Born herePete MacArthur is born here
1995In the archiveMohawk Towpath Byway - Children and Sheep at Clifton Park's Farm Fest
21st century
2020CensusPopulation peaks at 38,029

By decade

Clifton Park, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

On the map

Clifton Park on the map, 1893 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clifton Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1893Schenectady sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clifton Park.

On the National Register

11 listings protect 62 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1975

Vischer Ferry Historic District

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal4

Greek Revival3

Late Victorian3

Stick1

Vischer Ferry Historic DistrictFederal

Grooms Tavern ComplexGreek Revival

Clifton Park Center Baptist Church and CemeteryGreek Revival

Cyrus Rexford HouseStick

Jonesville StoreLate Victorian · Built 1860

Abraham Best HouseFederal · Built 1815

Nathan Garnsey HouseFederal · Built 1789

Mohawk Valley Grange HallLate Victorian · Built 1896

All 11 listings

Smith's Grain and Feed StoreBuilding · listed 2012 Jonesville CemeteryBuilding · listed 2014 School No. 5 "The Little Red Schoolhouse"Building · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Clifton Park

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Greg KoubekAmerican basketball player · b. 1969

Mitzi JohnsonVermont politician · b. 1970

Pete MacArthurAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1985

Emma Lee BenedictAmerican author, editor, educator · b. 1857

Dan PeltierAmerican baseball player · b. 1968

Justin RohrwasserAmerican football player · b. 1996

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Halfmoon6 historic placesB Niskayuna4 historic placesB⁺Ballston2 historic placesB Malta5 historic placesB⁺Colonie45 historic placesB⁻Country Knolls2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Round Lake2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Clifton Park’s history

What year was Clifton Park founded?

The Clifton Park post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Clifton Park rank for history?

Clifton Park is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #603 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Clifton Park?

11 listings: 10 buildings and 1 historic district, the Vischer Ferry Historic District, with 46 contributing buildings. 62 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Clifton Park?

3% of Clifton Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (25), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

Post to Clifton Park

Check your email