Olde Towne in Portsmouth, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Shopmates Memorial
World War I
1917 - 1918
1941 - 1945
Erected 1946 by Seaboard Employees, Portsmouth, VA.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • War, World I • War, World II.
Location. 36° 50.252′ N, 76° 17.846′ W. Memorial is in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is in Olde Towne. It is on Glasgow Street east of Crawford Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 407 New Ml St, Portsmouth VA 23704, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads, specifically in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Lafayette's Tour (here, next to this marker); Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients (here, next to this marker); The Coast Guard (within shouting distance of this marker); U.S. Lightship No. 101 Portsmouth (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Pass House & Gardens (about 300 feet away); Virginia Ship Repair Association
this page online
Regarding Shopmates Memorial. The marker was erected to memorialize former employees of the Seaboard Airline Railroad that died during World War I and World War II. Pfc Melvin J. Burch, for example, was a crane operator for Seaboard Airline until joining the US Army on 13 May 1944, and was killed in action in Speyer, Germany, on 1 April 1945. The monument was originally erected on the property of the Seaboard Shops - and predates the creation of Lafayette Park, its current site, by 29 years. Correlation between the two locations (was the marker moved, or were the shops here?) is a subject for further research.
Photographed by Evan Dwyer, October 18, 2025
3. Lafayette Park Memorials & Marker
The Medal of Honor and Shopmates Memorials are shown, along with the Pomeroy Foundation's Lafayette's Tour series marker.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 135 times since then and 46 times this year. Last updated on February 10, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 20, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on February 10, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.
