Clifton Forge Historic District

Clifton Forge's residential district covers 174 acres laid out on the town's original 1890 grid, after the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway moved its shops and terminal facilities to the Jackson River. Most of its 730 contributing resources are frame houses built for skilled railroad workers, often constructed by developers and contractors a block at a time. Queen Anne detailing is most common, followed by Bungalow and Colonial Revival houses, and some may be mail-order kit houses shipped by rail. McCormick Boulevard, the widest street, holds the largest homes of business professionals and some railroad managers. The district also contains churches and schools designed by architects from New York, Lynchburg, Roanoke and Covington, along with rowhouses, apartment buildings, a park, a cemetery and an armory. Historically white and African American neighborhoods each kept their own homes, churches and schools, and that layout survives. The district's period of significance runs from 1890 to 1950.