CLIFTON

NAME: Clifton
COUNTY: Brevard
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 3
CLIMATE: hot in summer, warm to moderate otherwise
BEST TIME TO VISIT: anytime, summer will be hot though
COMMENTS: No residents. Now part of Canaveral National Seashore property, owned by NASA. Located along Route 3 Kennedy Parkway, between ghost towns of Allenhurst and Shiloh.
REMAINS: Historic Marker, 3 cemeteries
The town of Clifton began in 1875 when former slave Butler Campbell purchased nearly 200 acres of land on north Merritt Island. Early settlers Andrew Jackson (not the President) and Wade Holmes bought land from Campbell, and soon the little community was underway and growing. This was an agricultural area, with citrus groves as well as onion and other vegetables. In 1890-91 Jackson and Campbell built a one room schoolhouse to serve the children of the town, many of whom were their own. The Clifton Colored School, as it was called, ran until 1910. In 1924 one of its students, Eugenia Campbell, returned to the area and lived in it for a while. When the Government took over Merritt Island in the 1960's the residents of all the little towns within had to relocate. Most of the structures were demolished, however the old Clifton Schoolhouse was somehow overlooked. It remained hidden in a remote and heavily overgrown section area until being discovered, partially still intact, in 2004. Submitted by: Jim Pike

Historic Marker at Clifton site
Courtesy Jim Pike


Clifton Colored School, 1890s. 
Courtesy of North Brevard Historical Society


Clifton School remains, discovered in 2004
Courtesy Jim Pike


Clifton School being excavated for preservation.  Will be rebuilt and included as part of the Heritage Park Complex at the Chain of Lakes Project in Titusville, Florida.
Courtesy Jim Pike


Clifton Townsite
Courtesy Jim Pike


Clifton town area Cemetery for Harry Watton, Eliza Crook, and Tom Crook
Courtesy Jim Pike


Cemetery and headstone for Emma Watton, across from Clifton Colored School Historic Marker
Courtesy Jim Pike


Butler Campbell homestead at Clifton, late 1800s
Courtesy Jim Pike

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