Public-Private Partnerships Drive Rural Revitalization

Jul 15, 2026

Driving westward on Virginia's Route 64 toward the West Virginia border, you'll come to a building that serves as the eastern gateway to Clifton Forge, Virginia. This building and others in the town are being redeveloped for new use. But they're more than construction projects. According to Saxton and Mary Fant Donnan, executive director of The Alleghany Foundation, these projects are integral to Clifton Forge's historic downtown and the town's economic future.

Clifton Forge, Virginia, was born from industrial development in Virginia's Alleghany Highlands region. Through the mid-1900s, its economy boomed, fueled by the iron and railroad industries.

However, widespread transitions from steam-powered train engines to diesel-powered engines post-World War II led to sharp declines in railroad employment and brought economic hardship to Clifton Forge. As with many towns and rural places when industry leaves, these shifting economic trends left Clifton Forge with aging buildings and infrastructure.

Clifton Forge sits in Alleghany County, Virginia, which borders West Virginia. Like many rural counties that have faced economic decline, Alleghany County's working-age population shrank in the last two decades. While the county's unemployment rate is the same as other rural Virginia counties, it has a lower poverty rate, lower educational attainment, lower household incomes, and fewer businesses per capita.

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