In honor of those from West Haven, who served in defense of their country and humanity and in cherished memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice during the Second World War. — — Map (db m104375) WM
To the memory of General Lafayette in grateful recognition of his valiant services and in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of his visit to our city. — — Map (db m104376) WM
Dedicated to the honor and glory of all veterans of all wars who have nobly served their country and who by offering their last full measure of devotion, have purchased freedom for our beloved nation. — — Map (db m107238) WM
(front) Best Selling Novels: Flowers in the Attic; Petals on the Wind; If There be Thorns; My Sweet Audrina; Seeds of Yesterday; Heaven; Dark Angels.
(rear) Books opened doors I hadn’t even realized were there. They took me up and . . . — — Map (db m112481) HM
Seven miles northeast in the Elizabeth River is Craney Island, a landmark of two wars. During the War of 1812, the British attacked its fortifications on 22 June 1813, but were repulsed by its defenders including the Portsmouth artillery. During the . . . — — Map (db m38265) HM
Founded November 1767 under the British flag by Andrew Sprowle, a Scottish-born merchant, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard is the U.S. Navy's oldest, continuously operating shipyard and actually predates the United States Navy Department by nearly 30 . . . — — Map (db m76823) HM
Leased in 1794 by the federal government, as part of its response to acts of piracy by the Barbary States, the shipyard produced in 1798-99 the 36-gun frigate Chesapeake, a sister ship of the USS Constitution known as "Old Ironsides." . . . — — Map (db m76825) HM
Built between December 1939 and June 1940, this 20-story crane can lift 350 tons. The Hammerhead is the largest crane of its type in the world. Its uses have included lifting a tugboat from the water, hoisting 16-inch gun turrets onto battleships . . . — — Map (db m76826) HM
Dry Dock 2, first built of wood, was completed in November 1887, but rebuilt with concrete in 1933. Dry Dock 3 was completed in November 1903. Dry Dock 4 was opened on April 1, 1919, with the King and Queen of Belgium in attendance. Dry Dock 5 . . . — — Map (db m76827) HM
With the advent of the Spanish-American War, an era of wood and canvas gave way to steel and steam in naval shipbuilding. The first U.S. Navy battleship to be commissioned, the USS Texas, and the first modern cruiser, the USS . . . — — Map (db m76828) HM
World War I ushered in a new period of growth for the shipyard. Three new dry docks and a major ship building way were added, in addition to new shop facilities. With the focus on ship repairs, along with construction of destroyers and 110-foot . . . — — Map (db m76829) HM
The yard’s employment peak of 43,000 workers was reached during World War II when the yard bustled with activity, building nearly 30 major vessels and repairing 6,850 U.S. and Allied ships. The shipyard also built 20 tank-landing ships and 50 . . . — — Map (db m76830) HM
The outbreak of hostilities in Korea in 1950 increased the workload once again. The shipyard completed work on more than 1,250 naval vessels and also built its last two warships, the wooden-hulled minesweepers Bold and Bulwark. . . . — — Map (db m76835) HM
In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt launched the "Great White Fleet" from the shipyard as it began its journey around the world.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard built the first flight deck on a ship, the USS Birmingham (CS-2). . . . — — Map (db m76836) HM
Convinced of the need to more quickly and efficiently repair the nation's Navy ships, President John Quincy Adams and Congress agreed in 1827 to follow engineers' recommendations to build two dry docks, one here and one in Boston.
The . . . — — Map (db m76838) HM
Following the evacuation and burning of the yard by Federal forces, Dry Dock 1 was used by the Confederate States Navy to convert the partly burned steam frigate Merrimack into an ironclad, renamed CSS Virginia.
In March 1862, the . . . — — Map (db m76839) HM
After the War of 1812, the shipyard helped repel an invasion of Craney Island and the USS Chesapeake was captured off Nova Scotia. Gosport continued to expand and improve. The keel of the USS Delaware was laid in the summer of 1817. . . . — — Map (db m76840) HM
Three prominent structures stand out along a one-block stretch of Portsmouth's Lincoln Street – Quarters A, B and C. On an 1827 map of the shipyard they are designated as the “Proposed Commandant's House,” the “Proposed Master Commandant’s House" . . . — — Map (db m76841) HM
During USS Thomas Jefferson's 22 years of service, it was both a ballistic missile submarine and an attack vessel. Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company built USS Thomas Jefferson, which was commissioned on January 4th, 1963. The . . . — — Map (db m76837) HM
This cemetery was developed on its present site. Several gravestones were moved from an earlier location outside the hospital reservation. It was named after Captain Conaway who served 40 years in the Navy, holding every rate and rank from seaman to . . . — — Map (db m37127) HM
This was begun in 1827 and opened in 1830. The hospital was taxed to its capacity in the Great Yellow Fever Epidemic in 1855 which decimated Portsmouth and Norfolk. This hospital has cared for the sick and wounded of the Navy in all wars of the . . . — — Map (db m216386) HM
Gosport Shipyard, which later became a United States Naval Shipyard, was established in 1787 by Andrew Sprowle. In 1833 the first drydock in the United States was opened in this yard. — — Map (db m71720) HM
Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the nation's first government-owned yard, was privately founded here as Gosport Shipyard on 1 Nov. 1767. Virginia seized it in 1776, and it served the state navy during the American Revolution. The U.S. Navy leased it in . . . — — Map (db m76787) HM
This marks a line of British redoubts erected in March 1781 by order of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold who, under Major William Phillips, commanded British troops occupying Portsmouth. The line of fortifications extended in an arc along . . . — — Map (db m71739) HM
This marks the northern limit of a line of British redoubts erected in March 1781 by order of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold who, under Major General William Phillips, commanded British troops occupying Portsmouth. This line of fortifications . . . — — Map (db m21043) HM
A brick windmill near here was close to the southern limit of a line of British redoubts erected in March 1781 by order of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, who under Major General William Phillips, commanded British troops occupying . . . — — Map (db m21112) HM
Born on November 24, 1926 to Mr. and Mrs. James W. Holley, Jr.
First elected to City Council June 11, 1968.
First elected to Vice Mayor July 18, 1978.
First elected to Mayor May 1, 1984.
Mayor of Portsmouth from July 1984 to December . . . — — Map (db m165994) HM
Chevra T'helim, (translation: House of Psalms), housed an Orthodox Jewish Congregation, established in 1917. It served the religious needs of a congregation largely composed of merchants who emigrated from Eastern Europe th the port city of . . . — — Map (db m36890) HM
A British fleet under Commodore Sir George Collier sailed up the Elizabeth River and shelled Fort Nelson in May 1779, during the Revolutionary War. A landing force of 1,800 infantrymen led by Brig. Gen. Edward Mathew captured the fort on 10 May . . . — — Map (db m21146) HM
Lord Cornwallis, commanding the British troops in the south, reached Portsmouth, July, 1781. He prepared to send a portion of his force to New York. Before the movement was made, orders came for him to take up a position at Old Point. Cornwallis . . . — — Map (db m21114) HM
Near this spot on August 20, 1781, General Cornwallis and his troops embarked for Yorktown. This fateful action enabled the combined forces of General George Washington and French Admiral De Grasse to bottle up the British and force the surrender of . . . — — Map (db m83882) HM
Established in 1789, the Portsmouth and Norfolk Baptist Church served as the first Baptist congregation in South Hampton Roads. The name was changed in 1791 to Portsmouth Baptist Church and again in 1855 to its current name, Court Street Baptist . . . — — Map (db m20467) HM
The Kehukee Association, composed of Baptist churches in southeastern Virginia and eastern North Carolina, established Court Street Baptist Church on 7 Sept. 1789. This is the oldest Baptist church in Portsmouth and Norfolk and became the mother . . . — — Map (db m203663) HM
Craney Island played a significant role in the War of 1812, flying the Flag of 1795, with fifteen stars and stripes. American defenders held off overwhelming British forces there on June 22, 1813. Two hundred British soldiers were . . . — — Map (db m21111) HM
The peaceful waters of Crawford Bay play host each year to a number of boating events including the Cock Island Race and the Crawford Bay Crew Classic. The homes visible across the inlet are in a neighborhood called Swimming Point. . . . — — Map (db m21072) HM
Erected 1835 by J.W. Collins, Portsmouth’s first five-story building and for many years a leading hotel. Presidents Van Buren, Tyler, and Fillmore were entertained here. — — Map (db m20461) HM
The Elizabeth River, explored by Captain John Smith in 1608, was named for Princess Elizabeth. Shipbuilding activity began in 1620 when John Wood, a shipbuilder, requested a land grant. Many historic ships were built at the naval shipyard . . . — — Map (db m21044) HM
This Romanesque Revival dwelling was constructed for Laura C. Armistead and her family in 1894 by her father Beverly A. Armistead, president of the Bank of Portsmouth. Identifying features of this architectural style are the round arches over thick, . . . — — Map (db m84742) HM
Emanuel A.M.E. Church is rooted in the African Methodist Society that was formed soon after the founding in 1772 of the Methodist Society in Portsmouth. The African Society met independently until Nat Turner's insurrection in 1831, worshiped with . . . — — Map (db m36867) HM
The congregation of Emanuel Church was formed out of the Methodist society by Robert Williams, who erected a meetinghouse on South Street in 1772. Thus, two societies were established, the Black people called their society the African Methodist . . . — — Map (db m165996) HM
This pavilion displays a first order Fresnel lens from the second Hog Island Light. The lens began service in 1896. Originally built in 1852, the first building was destroyed by erosion and rebuilt in 1896, only to be deactivated in 1948. . . . — — Map (db m21180) HM
On the site of Portsmouth’s Naval Hospital stood Fort Nelson. There, Virginia’s Revolutionary government late in 1776 constructed the fort of timber and rammed earth. Three years later, the British fleet commanded by Admiral Sir George Collier . . . — — Map (db m21145) HM
Before you is the Gosport Navy Yard (Norfolk Naval Shipyard). Gosport is the oldest Navy shipyard in the nation. Here is where the USS Merrimack was burned and then transformed by the Confederates into the powerful ironclad ram, the CSS . . . — — Map (db m21160) HM
Here stood the residence of William Crawford who in 1752 founded the town of Portsmouth on sixty-five acres of his extensive plantation lands. The house site extended south on Crawford Street 113 feet, and east on High Street to the Elizabeth River. . . . — — Map (db m20434) HM
William F. Cody, associated with a Western exhibition titled “Buffalo Bill (Himself) and the 101 Ranch Wild West Combined,” passed by this spot on a route that would take the parade to the intersection of Washington and . . . — — Map (db m21162) HM
John Luke Porter, first president of the Portsmouth common council, was born just two blocks south of here. An accomplished naval constructor, commissioned first by the United States and later by the Confederacy, Porter supervised, at the Norfolk . . . — — Map (db m20433) HM
Lightships were “floating lighthouses.” They were anchored at the entrances to ports, bays and outer limits to off-lying danger areas such as shoals and reefs. These vessels served as aids to navigation. Lightships were originally . . . — — Map (db m20407) HM
Lightships and the City of Portsmouth go back to the beginning of lightship duty in this country in 1820. The first lightship was established off Craney Island at the mouth of the Elizabeth River. Working lightships were constant visitors on the . . . — — Map (db m20408) HM
The four houses directly across the street are the last remaining original houses of Lincolnsville, Portsmouth's first middle-class African American community, established in 1890. It was an area of about 34 acres and operated as a city within a . . . — — Map (db m36911) HM
Born Matilda S. Joyner in Portsmouth 1869, Sissieretta Jones was a trailblazing African American pioneer of the concert and theatrical stages during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She studied music at the Providence School of Music and the . . . — — Map (db m83881) HM
This Church, founded 1772, is one of the oldest Methodist Churches in Virginia. The first building was erected, 1775, at South and Effingham Streets. The Church was moved to Glasgow Street near Court in 1792. It established the first Sunday School . . . — — Map (db m20466) HM
Constructed in 1919, this building was used as a maintenance building for the Norfolk County ferries. From 1636 to 1955 the ferries provided service for passengers and their various modes of transportation across the Elizabeth River between Norfolk . . . — — Map (db m20390) HM
Begun 1845, occupied 20 July 1846. The architect, Wm. R. Singleton, a Portsmouth native, also designed the old Norfolk City Court House. This building stands on one of the four corners dedicated for public use in 1752 by Lt. Col. William Crawford, . . . — — Map (db m3518) HM
The one square block historic district before you is Portsmouth’s Olde Towne. The district dates to 1752 when Portsmouth was founded by William Crawford. Olde Towne contains one of the largest collections of historic buildings in Virginia . . . — — Map (db m21116) HM
This is the site of the Portsmouth Naval Hospital which served both the Union and the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Portsmouth Naval Hospital, the U.S. Navy’s first hospital, was founded in 1827 by Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard. . . . — — Map (db m21042) HM
The Portsmouth Public Library was established in 1914 primarily due to efforts of the Students Club. The first library was housed in the annex behind the 1846 Courthouse and most of the original collection was donated from the Seaboard Air Line . . . — — Map (db m20392) HM
Erected by a grateful people to the memory of the priests who died in their service
Rt. Rev. Msgr. F. Joseph Magri
1917 - 1942
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Govaert
1942 - 1961
Rev. Francis Devlin
1845 - 1855
Rev. Jos. . . . — — Map (db m165987) WM
Erected by the citizens of
Portsmouth
in the memory of
Rev. Francis Devlin
the humble priest,
the faithful pastor
who sacrificed his life
in the cause of charity,
during the plague of 1855.
He was a native of . . . — — Map (db m36939) HM
In October 1775, Virginia’s last royal governor, the Earl of Dunmore, made his headquarters at Gosport, one mile south of here. After his defeat at Great Bridge and the destruction of Norfolk, he entrenched at Hospital Point, one mile north, but was . . . — — Map (db m20432) HM
In honor of
Commodore Richard Dale, U.S.N.
A native of this place.
Born November 6, 1756,
Died in Philadelphia, PA. Feb. 26, 1826. — — Map (db m165992) WM
Portsmouth native Ruth Brown was the best-selling African American female recording artist early in the 1950s. Her two dozen hits established Atlantic Records as “The House That Ruth Built.” Brown also helped to usher in the rock’n’roll . . . — — Map (db m83880) HM
Upon her death in 1888, Mrs. Eliza Burke Gregory bequeathed $10,000 for the education of boys in Portsmouth. Her church, St. Paul's Catholic, had established a girls school, St. Joseph's, on King Street in 1876. The current site was selected, . . . — — Map (db m71722) HM
The Portsmouth & Roanoke Railroad was incorporated in March 1832 and began operations in July 1834 when the first train, pulled by horses, ran a full circuit from Portsmouth to Suffolk. A locomotive replaced the horses later that year. By late 1836, . . . — — Map (db m20387) HM
Erected by the citizens of Portsmouth and Norfolk County. Sponsored by the Austin R. Davis Camp No 4 – United Spanish War Veterans and Auxiliary to commemorate the valor and patriotism of those who voluntarily served in the war with Spain, the . . . — — Map (db m20794) HM
St. John's Episcopal Church was founded in 1848; its original Greek Revival sanctuary opened in 1850 near the corner of Court and London Streets. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1855, James Chisholm, the church's first rector, remained in . . . — — Map (db m165991) HM
St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church was first built by French and Irish immigrants between 1811 and 1815 and was the first Catholic congregation established in Portsmouth. Increasing membership necessitated the building of new structures in 1831 and . . . — — Map (db m21147) HM
A burial ground for early parishioners and clergy of St. Paul's Catholic Church was located on this site during the nineteenth century. Among those buried here were:
Patrick Robertson, who bequeathed the funds to purchase this property in 1810 . . . — — Map (db m165990) HM
The 1846 Courthouse building at the corner of Court & High Street in Olde Towne Portsmouth was designed in the classic Greek Revival style by architect, William R. Singleton and built by Willoughby G. Butler. It housed the Norfolk County Court until . . . — — Map (db m76790) HM
The City of Portsmouth has had a long history of supporting U.S. Coast Guard operations. Today it serves as a center for Coast Guard regional administration and operational oversight through the Atlantic Area Command headquarters, Fifth District . . . — — Map (db m20431) HM
Opened on November 14, 1945, the Commodore Theatre was designed by noted Baltimore architect John J. Zink and built and operated by William S. "Bunkie" Wilder, a Portsmouth native, as his flagship theatre. It is named for Commodore James Barron, . . . — — Map (db m20465) HM
The Elizabeth River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay, runs between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk. The river was named “Elizabeth” in honor of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, the eldest daughter of King James I of England.
The river . . . — — Map (db m21182) HM
On June 19th, 1855, following a twelve day quarantine, the merchant ship Benjamin Franklin arrived from the West Indies and docked at Gosport Shipyard for repairs. While emptying its bilge, mosquitoes carrying yellow fever were released. After . . . — — Map (db m36892) HM
The intersection of High and Court Street was known as Towne Square, the cornerstone of the community. The square that you are standing on was known as Courthouse Square, the site of the original courthouse from 1803-1846. In 1855 the Ocean Hotel . . . — — Map (db m20463) HM
Built in 1762 as the Parish Church of Portsmouth Parish, established in 1761. Later named Trinity; Enlarged in 1829; Remodeled in 1893. Colonel William Crawford, founder of Portsmouth in 1752, was a member of the first Vestry. Buried here is . . . — — Map (db m20464) HM
In 1981 the Tidewater Maritime Training Institute (TMTI) was officially established in Portsmouth, VA to support the training of commercial ship repairers to perform maintenance and modernization of the naval fleet in Hampton Roads. In 1984 the . . . — — Map (db m163610) HM
Built by Colonel Dempsey Watts in 1799 and inherited by his son, Captain Samuel Watts, who lived here until his death in 1878. Here Chief Black Hawk, of the Black Hawk Indian War, was entertained in 1820, and Henry Clay in 1844. — — Map (db m36868) HM
Cedar Grove Cemetery was established in 1831 as the first secular cemetery by the Town of Portsmouth. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The four-acre parcel cost $400.00 and was sectioned into 167 lots which sold for . . . — — Map (db m119425) WM
The Town of Portsmouth established Cedar Grove Cemetery just outside town limits in 1832. A trove of 19th-century funerary art, the cemetery contains monuments and statues handcrafted in the Victorian, Greek Revival, and Egyptian Revival styles, . . . — — Map (db m118954) HM
Wooden ships became helpless shortly before noon on March 8, 1862 when the CSS Virginia, the world's first steam-driven iron-clad vessel to be used in warfare, floated out to do battle against them. The next day the Northern ship USS Monitor arrived . . . — — Map (db m36933) HM
In 1885, after the War Between the States, the local veterans of Portsmouth and Norfolk County formed the Stonewall Camp, United Confederate Veterans. This Camp remained active until 1929 when the last three members bequeathed their assets to the . . . — — Map (db m36949) HM
Arnold, after going over to the British, was sent to Virginia to make war on the state. He reached Hampton Roads in December, 1780, raided to Richmond and came to Portsmouth, January 19, 1781. Establishing his headquarters in Patrick Robinson's . . . — — Map (db m71741) HM
African Americans purchased land about a quarter mile southwest of here in 1879 to establish Mt. Olive Cemetery. The property adjoins a potter’s field thought to be a burial place for victims of the yellow fever epidemic of 1855. Later, Mt. Calvary . . . — — Map (db m118352) HM
On the morning of June 22, 1813, during the War of 1812, British naval and marine forces under the command of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren landed here at Hoffler Creek. American armed militia under the command of Gen. Robert B. Taylor blocked the . . . — — Map (db m22154) HM
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth is known as the “First and Finest.” It was the nation’s first Naval Hospital and has served the military since 1830. The hospital complex is 112 acres and serves approximately 430,000 active duty service . . . — — Map (db m62263) HM
The Charette Health Care Center was dedicated in April 1999 and it is the third naval hospital built in Portsmouth. The 1 million square foot, five story, state-of-the-art hospital contains 17 operating rooms, 300 exam rooms, 120 beds, 140 special . . . — — Map (db m62279) HM
Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. On April 2, the Governor ordered the 3rd Virginia Regiment to occupy and fortify the Navy Hospital grounds. A battery of earthen works was hastily erected on the point and renamed Fort Nelson, after . . . — — Map (db m83920) HM
After the Spanish defeat at the battle of Santiago, Cuba, in July 1898, the sick and injured needed treatment. The newly converted hospital ship USS Solace transported 55 sick U.S. Navy and 48 wounded Spanish sailors to the hospital. The . . . — — Map (db m83924) HM
World War II created the need to rapidly expand the hospital in 1941. The $1.5 million program increased the number of hospital beds to 3,441. A dental clinic, ships service, library and a bank were added. The staff -- medical officers, nurses, . . . — — Map (db m83925) HM
By 1900, time and use had taken its toll on the hospital building. In October 1907, the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ordered hospital personnel to remove patients to tent-covered wooden platforms constructed several hundred yards away from . . . — — Map (db m83926) HM
Building 215 was constructed to provide a much needed modern hospital and to centralize the medical departments scattered around the base. The 500-bed hospital became the command’s second primary hospital facility when commissioned in April 1960. . . . — — Map (db m83930) HM
On June 17, 1898, President William McKinley signed a bill establishing the Navy Hospital Corps. Navy Corpsmen are trained in the science of health and nursing skills necessary to provide proper patient care at hospitals, ships at sea and to the . . . — — Map (db m83932) HM
In June 1855, the steamer Franklin put into Norfolk for repairs while sailing from the West Indies to New York. Mosquitoes carrying yellow fever escaped when the vessel docked. The Naval Hospital’s first yellow fever patients came from . . . — — Map (db m83935) HM
There are 840 graves of seamen and soldiers in the naval cemetery on the hospital grounds. They include the remains of seamen from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Denmark and Japan. The oldest known burial was a . . . — — Map (db m83936) HM
In 1826, Philadelphia architect John Haviland submitted construction plans for this hospital. This building, which houses offices is now known as Building 1, was made of granite and freestone. Its style is classical Greek Revival architecture, which . . . — — Map (db m83939) HM
The Naval Hospital faces a peninsula surrounded by the Elizabeth River. In 1636, Captain Thomas Willoughby received a land grant from the King of England that included this peninsula. The land was used as a plantation and changed owners several . . . — — Map (db m83941) HM
The British had a custom of taxing its sailors for their health care. In 1798 Congress established the “Hospital Fund" based on the British system. 20 cents per month was deducted from the pay of each officer, sailor and marine to provide for . . . — — Map (db m83944) HM
Naval regulations of 1798 state: ”A convenient place be set apart for sick or hurt men, to which they are to be removed with their hammocks and bedding when the surgeon shall advise the same, and some of the crew appointed to attend . . . — — Map (db m83945) HM
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