Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Clifton Forge (Va.) Deeds, 1906-1987. Local Government Records Collection, Clifton Forge (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from the city of Clifton Forge under the accession number 38180.

Historical Information

Clifton Forge, in Alleghany County, was named for James Clifton's iron furnace, which was located in the Iron Gate Gorge by 1828. Known as Williamson's Station in 1857 when the railroad arrived, it was established as a town in 1861 and took the name Clifton Forge when it was incorporated in 1884. Clifton Forge became a city by court order in 1906. In 2001, Clifton Forge reverted back to Alleghany County.

Scope and Content

Clifton Forge (Va.) Deeds, 1906-1987 consist of deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, and deeds of trust. On presentation to the court, deeds were proved and recorded. If the deed was not witnessed, the grantor acknowledged the deed in open court. A few of the deeds include plats.

Deeds of bargain and sale are the most commonly recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

The collection may include additional record types that were recorded in deed books such as officials' bonds, fiduciary records, marriage records, road and bridge records, and bills of sale.

Arrangement

Chronological

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Clifton Forge (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Land subdivision -- Virginia -- Clifton Forge

Geographical Names:

• Clifton Forge (Va.) -- History -- 20th century

Genre and Form Terms:

• Deeds -- Virginia -- Clifton Forge
• Land records -- Virginia -- Clifton Forge
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Clifton Forge
• Mortgage deeds -- Virginia -- Clifton Forge