The
Town of Clifton Park was the last town formed in Saratoga County. It
was separated from the Town of Halfmoon in 1828. The Town is bounded
on the east by Halfmoon, on the north by Ballston and Malta, on the
west by Ballston and the Mohawk River, and on the south by the
Mohawk. It occupies a mid-southern position in Saratoga County and
is approximately 47 square miles in area.
Clifton Park's population remained fairly constant throughout most
of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. By 1960,
however, this figure had doubled to 4,512. In 1970 the population
total had jumped to 14,867 and according to the 1990 Census the
figure is around 32,000. The Town of Clifton Park has the largest
population in Saratoga County.
James Jones and Ephraim Stevens both built taverns along the
Waterford-Saratoga Turnpike. Both places were in operation by the
1820's, providing lodging and refreshment for weary travelers. The
resulting settlements became known as Jonesville and Steven's
Corners. By 1860, the latter became known as Clifton Park Village.
Although the Jonesville Hotel burned abut 1914, the Steven's Hotel,
better known as the Clifton Park Hotel still survives. The Town line
for Clifton Park and Halfmoon runs through the center of Clifton
Park Hotel, and thus the village, itself, is divided between the two
towns.
The Clifton Park Hotel became the focal point for community
activities. Traveling theatrical groups performed here, there were
dances and musical programs and at the end of the nineteenth century
a roller skating rink. In the days before a Town hall, the hotel
served as court house and jail as well as a location for Town Board
meetings. After all the first supervisor of the Town of Clifton Park
was Ephraim Stevens, himself.
The Clifton Country Mall shopping center opened in 1976. The mall
was later expanded, and two other shopping centers constructed
adjacent to it, on Route 146 and on the Clifton Country Road, opened
in the 1980's. Residents no longer needed to leave the Town for
their shopping needs. The Shenendehowa Public Library was also
relocated to this area.
In the older hamlets of the Town, the churches still serve as social
centers to bring residents together. Clambakes sponsored by the
Jonesville Methodist Church were an annual event for more than fifty
years. Today, the churches sponsor dinners and other community
activities. Volunteer fire departments also serve as a catalyst for
bring together people with common interests. Clifton Park has a very
active Senior Citizens Group with their own building. Garden Clubs
and Study Groups also abound.
Clifton Common, located off Vischer Ferry Road, is the true center
of community activities, and is one of the region's most distinctive
recreation venues.
For those interested in more historic data, the Town offers three
publications: Crossroads & Canals: History of the Town of Clifton
Park, Greek Temple on the Towpath: History of the Village of Vischer
Ferry, and Bits of Clifton Park History.
