Washington in Beaufort County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

John H. Small

1858-1946

Photographed By Mike Wintermantel, August 10, 2013

1. John H. Small Marker

Inscription. Congressman, 1899-1921. Chair, Cmte. on Rivers & Harbors; champion of Intracoastal Waterway. Home stood 40 yds. E.

Erected 2008 by North Carolina Office of Archives and History. (Marker Number B-65.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Division of Archives and History series list.

Location. 35° 32.697′ N, 77° 3.668′ W. Marker is in Washington, North Carolina, in Beaufort County. Marker is at the intersection of West Main Street and South Bridge Street (U.S. 17), on the left when traveling east on West Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Washington NC 27889, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. C. C. Cambreleng (within shouting distance of this marker); Siege Of Washington (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lindsay C. Warren (about 500 feet away); Burning Of Washington (about 500 feet away); Havens Memorial Building (about 500 feet away); Attack On Washington (about 600 feet away); Edmund Harding (about 800 feet away); St. John the Evangelist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Washington.

Regarding John H. Small.

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Washington, North Carolina, native John Humphrey Small served eleven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving his greatest legacy as an advocate, along with U.S. Sen. Furnifold Simmons of New Bern, for construction of the Intracoastal Waterway. Educated at Trinity College, Small left school to become a teacher and in 1881 took up the practice of law in his hometown. He held several local offices, including city councilman and mayor, before being elected in 1898 to represent the First Congressional District. There he remained through eleven terms, until 1921.

Sketches of the life of Small record that he long “dreamed” of a national transportation system by water, not surprising for someone raised alongside the Pamlico River. Early in his Congressional tenure, he sought and received an appointment to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, a panel he chaired in during the 65th Congress, 1917-1919. Authorized by Congress in 1919, the Intracoastal Waterway was completed from Norfolk to Wilmington by 1936. Political opponents derided the project as “Small’s Big Ditch.” The Congressman from an early age also took an interest in promoting education. Small declined to run for reelection in 1920 and returned to the practice of law, until 1931. He died in 1946 and is buried in the city’s Oakdale Cemetery. The house where he lived in Washington,

John H. Small Marker on West Main Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, April 19, 2013

2. John H. Small Marker on West Main Street

prominently located at the junction of Bridge and Main streets, was demolished in 1954, the year after the death of Small’s widow Isabel. In recent years a vacant commercial building occupied the site. (North Carolina Office of Archives & History — Department of Cultural Resources)

Also see . . . John Humphrey Small at FindAGrave.com. (Submitted on August 21, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed By Mike Wintermantel, August 10, 2013

3. John H. Small Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 28, 2019. It was originally submitted on August 12, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 454 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 12, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2. submitted on August 12, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 3. submitted on August 12, 2013, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.