History

Incorporated in 1909, the municipality of Ayer's Cliff still maintains its Anglo-Saxon lustre from the late 18th century. John Langmaid of New Hampshire took ownership of the territory, which he baptized under his own name as Langmaid's Flat. He ran a small hotel, welcoming visitors traveling up from the United States. In 1799, a man named Thomas Ayer bought property to lay a rail line. When this was accomplished, the town took on the name Ayer's Flat. But this term suggesting a swampy lowland didn't bode well for the area's investment potential. And so, in 1904, "Cliff" became the town's suffix, a better reflection of the area's scenic attributes. Every summer, the citizens of Ayer's Cliff hold a colossal fair at their county fairgrounds, one of the oldest such events in the region. An old music bandstand in the center of the village, one of the oldest in the country, has become the symbol of the municipality. Ayer's Cliff is also a great access point to Lake Massawippi, Abenaki for "lake of deep waters."