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Town Point Park in Norfolk, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Norfolk 1682

 
 
Norfolk 1682 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
1. Norfolk 1682 Marker
Inscription. Town Point is where Norfolk began. In 1680 the General Assembly of his Majesty's Colony of Virginia enacted a law requiring each county to establish and develop a town site. In lower Norfolk County fifty acres of land at the entrance of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River were purchased from Nicholas Wise, thus assuring the town of good water access to the surrounding areas. County surveyor John Ferebee laid out Front Street (now Main Street) on high ground and the town was divided into half-acre sites for dwelling housed and warehouses.

The original town was almost completely surrounded by water, access by land was limited to a single road which later became Church Street (now Lower St. Paul's Boulevard). The town covered what is now the southern portion of downtown Norfolk, bounded generally by the river on the south and west, City Hall Avenue on the north and interstate 264 on the east.

The cannon displayed here were unearthed in 1982 from Otter Berth and Town Point Park. They are of Revolutionary War vintage and are of unknown foreign origin. The carriages were constructed of white oak to 18th century specifications by members of the Norfoks Rotary Club.
 
Erected 1986 by Norfolk Rotary Club.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
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Settlements & SettlersWar, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Rotary International series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1680.
 
Location. 36° 50.71′ N, 76° 17.592′ W. Marker is in Norfolk, Virginia. It is in Town Point Park. Marker can be reached from Waterside Drive west of Martins Lane, on the right when traveling east. Along the Elizabeth River Trail in Town Point Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Norfolk VA 23510, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Navy Escort Carriers Based in Norfolk (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The First Battle of Ironclad Ships, 1862 (about 400 feet away); The Customhouse, 1859 (about 500 feet away); Four Farthing or Town Point (about 500 feet away); Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (about 500 feet away); Armed Forces Memorial (about 500 feet away); Main Street (about 600 feet away); Flood Protection for Downtown Norfolk (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Norfolk.
 
Also see . . .  The Savage Chronicles. The original feoffees hired one John Ferebee, surveyor, to plat out the fifty acres so that the
Revolutionary War vintage cannon displayed here unearthd in 1982 image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
2. Revolutionary War vintage cannon displayed here unearthd in 1982
town land could be sold in an orderly manner. Ferebee had arrived some years earlier from the little town of Chipping Camden, in the Cotswolds. By October, 1680, Ferebee’s plat was ready for recording. It showed a planned community with 51 lots, as well as the one or two existing structures, most notably the Parish Church. Ferebee added specific descriptions to the plat in two places; a “public market” was indicated where Commercial Place now lays, and the word “school” was placed upon lot 51, just across the “Road that Leadeth out of Town” (present-day St. Paul’s Boulevard) from the Parish Church. (Submitted on December 26, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.) 
 
Norfolk Park image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
3. Norfolk Park
Norfolk 1682 Map image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
4. Norfolk 1682 Map
Town Point Park Renovation image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
5. Town Point Park Renovation
City of Norfolk Re-Dedicated Juoy 2009 City Council at Dedication Paul D. Fraim Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot Vice-Mayor Daun S. Hester Paul R. Riddick Theresa W. Whibley M.D. Donald L. Williams Barclay W. Winn W. Randy Wright Regina V.K. Williams~City Manager John M. Keifer~Director of Public Works Architect~MMM Design Group Contractor~Conrad Brothers, Inc.
South Waterfront Improvements image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
6. South Waterfront Improvements
Dedicatd to the citizens of Norfok October 18,1983
Town Point Park Renovation image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, August 11, 2010
7. Town Point Park Renovation
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 26, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 619 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on December 26, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024