The Clifton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Carrollville (1824), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 2,651180 years
How historic is Clifton?
A
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Clifton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Clifton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clifton is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clifton’s overall grade.
Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Clifton’s 60.2 sits above most of its state (85% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.0 points). 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clifton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Clifton is a city in Wayne County, Tennessee, on the state's south central border with Alabama. It developed as a river port along the Tennessee River in the 19th century. Its historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places are associated with this period. As of the 2020 census, Clifton had a population of 2,651.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,694 in 2010, 2,651 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Clifton’s post office has been open since 1846. Another post office, Carrollville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Carrollville
1824–1860
Clifton
1846–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Carrollville
Gone or out of use
Sanders Minemine
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clifton
BakerCliftonHaggardHeltonLizard Glade
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Clifton’s history
What year was Clifton founded?
The Clifton post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Clifton rank for history?
Clifton is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. 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?
Three places: the First Presbyterian Church of Clifton (listed 1988), the Water Street Historic District (1992) and the Hughes House (2020).
How old are the homes in Clifton?
18% of Clifton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.0 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
