Clifford

Clifford is a small village on Highway 9 in the north-west corner of the Town of Minto, with Coon Creek running through it toward the Saugeen River. Elora Street is the main street, and the Clifford branch of the Wellington County Library is on Brown Street North. Walking trails wind through Clifford Rotary Park. The village stands about 375 metres above sea level, with farm fields reaching its edge on every side. Harriston's arena, pool and riverside trails are about 11 km east, a drive of under ten minutes.

Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village. When its post office opened in 1856, the first postmaster, Francis Brown, renamed it after Clifford in West Yorkshire, England. It was incorporated as a village in 1873. Wightman Telecom has run a telephone system here since 1908. In 1999 Clifford joined Harriston, Palmerston and Minto Township as the Town of Minto.

The 2021 census counted about 390 homes in Clifford. About four in five are single detached houses, and about one in nine are in apartment buildings under five storeys. About four in ten homes were built in 1960 or earlier and about one in six between 1961 and 1980. About one in five were built between 1981 and 2000, and about one in six in 2001 or later.

Highway 9 runs east to Harriston, about 11 km away, a drive of about 9 minutes, and west toward Walkerton. Uptown Waterloo is about 84 km by road, a drive of a little over an hour. Palmerston is about 20 minutes south, through Harriston and down Highway 23.

Clifford Rotary Park, rebuilt by the Town of Minto and reopened in 2013, has a ball diamond, a soccer pitch, walking trails and a pavilion. The Clifford branch of the Wellington County Library is at 7 Brown Street North. Harriston, about 11 km east, has the arena, the Kinsmen Pool, the Greenway Trail and the farmers' market, and Mount Forest's sports complex is a short drive further east.

• Minto-Clifford Public School — JK to Grade 8. The public school for Clifford, on Highway 89.
• Palmerston Public School — JK to Grade 8. The French immersion school for the Town of Minto, in Palmerston.
• Norwell District Secondary School — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for Clifford, in Palmerston, with French immersion.
• St. Mary Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for Clifford, in Mount Forest.
• St. James Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school for Clifford, in Guelph.