Olde Towne in Portsmouth, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Watts House
Photographed by James Thomson, October 11, 2010
1. Watts House Marker
Erected 1948 by Virginia Conservation Commission. (Marker Number Q-8C.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Government & Politics • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Wars, US Indian. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1799.
Location. 36° 50.3′ N, 76° 18.133′ W. Marker is in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is in Olde Towne. It is at the intersection of 517 North Street and Dinwiddie Street, on the left when traveling east on 517 North Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 North Street, Portsmouth VA 23704, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker 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: The Yellow Fever of 1855 (here, next to this marker); Glasgow Street Park (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Glasgow Street Park (about 300 feet away); Capt. James Hamilton
this page online
Photographed by James Thomson, October 11, 2010
2. Watts House from SW, across North St.
Photographed by James Thomson, October 11, 2010
3. Watts House from East (across Dinwiddie St.)
Photographed by Evan Dwyer
4. Watts House Re-location
The house was moved to this location around 1908-9, after Charles T. Parrish leveled the land at North & Dinwiddie Streets. A 1909 Portsmouth newspaper details funding for the opening of North Street and the 1st use of the Watts House's address, 500 North Street, is in 1912 for a Judge Watts fundraising meeting. This article, published 24 January 1936 in the Portsmouth Star, gives the date of the home's move about 25 years prior. This is important to the topic as Olde Towne Portsmouth's walking tour gives the errant date of 1808 for the house's relocation (assuming a typo of 1908 - otherwise it would have been moved only 9 years after construction, and to a swamp!) and the Portsmouth Civil League's website on the house states 1898 - before the plain where it sits existed.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2010, by James Thomson of Chesapeake, United States. This page has been viewed 1,490 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 19, 2010, by James Thomson of Chesapeake, United States. 2, 3. submitted on October 11, 2010, by James Thomson of Chesapeake, United States. 4. submitted on February 6, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
