Clifton was the home of Thomas Mann Randolph (1768-1828), son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson, who served as governor of Virginia and in the U.S. Congress. The original portion of the rambling, much-evolved structure in southern Albemarle County was built by Randolph in the first quarter of the 19th century to be the hub of the never-to-be port of North Milton. Randolph and several partners planned the town adjacent to the Milton Canal to support the agricultural and commercial development occurring in the area and to compete with the then-prosperous but now extinct community of Milton across the Rivanna. Originally Randolph’s warehouse, the house later became his residence. His office is an extant outbuilding. Clifton was considerably expanded by later owners and now serves as a country inn. The present portico replaces a 19th-century one-story veranda.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
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DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
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DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia