Historical Markers and War Memorials in Suffolk, Virginia
Adjacent to Suffolk, Virginia
Chesapeake(65) ► Isle of Wight County(51) ► Newport News(273) ► Portsmouth(105) ► Southampton County(27) ► Camden County, North Carolina(18) ► Gates County, North Carolina(7) ►
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On this stream, Bennett's Creek, stood the home of Richard Bennett. He was one of the Commissioners to "reduce" Virginia after the victory of Parliament in the Civil War in England, 1651, and the first governor under the Cromwellian domination . . . — — Map (db m123806) HM
The Suffolk School Board opened Booker T. Washington School here in 1913 to serve African American children in grades 1-8. Ninth grade was added during the 1920s. Overcrowding prompted the construction of a larger building here in 1925. Black . . . — — Map (db m99876) HM
Cedar Hill Cemetery sits on the site of a farm owned by the John Constant family in the early 1700’s. In 1802, the Town of Suffolk purchased 2½ acres of the farm to build a community meeting house as a shared house of worship for both blacks . . . — — Map (db m103516) HM
1861 ~ 1865
More than 1,500 men and boys from Suffolk and Nansemond County left their homes and families in defense of constitutional liberty and states rights to face overwhelming odds. Many paid the ultimate price; all endured hardships and . . . — — Map (db m104106) HM WM
(front) Confederate Dead
Erected by Thos W. Smith in memory of his comrades.
(side) This shaft on which we carve no name, shall guide Virginia's youth - a sign-post on the road to fame, to honor and to truth.
A silent sentry, . . . — — Map (db m103986) WM
A community developed here in the 1720s around John Constant's wharf, dwelling, and tobacco warehouse. The Virginia House of Burgesses chartered the town of Suffolk in 1742. It was incorporated as a town in 1808 and as a city in 1910; in 1974 it . . . — — Map (db m76803) HM
Between 1926 and 1927, African Americans raised $3,300 toward the East Suffolk School, which opened with T.J. Johnson as principal. In addition to public money, the Julius Rosenwald Fund also provided $1,500 to assist the effort. Rosenwald, . . . — — Map (db m76806) HM
Here stood the Colonial Suffolk Church, a large, cross-shaped, brick building, erected in 1753 as the second parish church of Upper Parish, Nansemond County, and the first house of worship in the town of Suffolk. It survived the burning of Suffolk . . . — — Map (db m76804) HM
On 10 May 1779, during the Revolutionary War, a British expeditionary force commanded by Gen. Edward Matthews disembarked in Portsmouth to capture the major Tidewater Virginia towns. About 200 Nansemond County militia under Col. Willis Riddick . . . — — Map (db m110298) HM
Jericho Ditch, 9 miles long was dug by slave labor in early 1800's to enable the Dismal Swamp Land Company to remove the timber, to drain lowland and provide access to Lake Drummond. — — Map (db m93488) HM
Planters Nut and Chocolate Company, based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, established a peanut processing factory in Suffolk in 1913. Amedeo Obici, the company’s co-founder, moved to Suffolk and in 1916 sponsored a contest to develop a mascot for . . . — — Map (db m100478) HM
Here stood the Nansemond Collegiate Institute, founded in 1890 as the Nansemond Industrial Institute by Rev. William W. Gaines to provide local black children with an education, because free public schools were closed to them. Eventually the . . . — — Map (db m76807) HM
1890 Nansemond Industrial Institute 1939
Nansemond Normal and Industrial Institute Incorporated
Founder
Rev. William Washington Gaines
Trustees
Willie Colden • T.S. Epps • Thomas S. Bruce • F.W. Blakesley • W.H. Crocker • Otis W. Foye . . . — — Map (db m157553) HM
Seven African American trustees acquired land here in 1885 and established Oak Lawn Cemetery. Community leaders interred here include John W. Richardson, president of the Phoenix Bank of Nansemond; Wiley H. Crocker, founder of the Tidewater Fair . . . — — Map (db m157551) HM
A Fountain for Suffolk
This fountain, dedicated to the City of Suffolk, embodies elements of classic design which symbolize the ancient Roman origins of Oderzo, Italy.
The mosaic tiles forming the amphora, or vase, are a gift from the . . . — — Map (db m100928) HM
This bell was part of the old City Hall constructed in 1891 on Main Street near this site. The City Hall Building had two spires. The southern spire had a four faced clock that was operated by a system of counter weights. This bell was struck as a . . . — — Map (db m100910) HM
Not for fame or fortune. Not for place or rank. Not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity. But in simple obedience to duty as they understood it. These men suffered all. Sacrificed all. Dared all. And died. The Reverend Doctor Randolph McKim — — Map (db m104007) WM
The restored Greek Revival house before you is Riddick’s Folly. It was constructed in 1837 by Mills Riddick, a grandson of local Revolutionary War hero Willis Riddick. Mill’s contemporaries soon ridiculed the house and labeled the building . . . — — Map (db m18122) HM
A contributing building within
Suffolk Olde Towne Historic District
as designated by the
National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Historic Landmark Commission
"Old Friends Are
Worth Keeping"
circa . . . — — Map (db m165998) HM
The monument before you was erected in 1889 by Col. Thomas W. Smith in honor of his Confederate “comrades.” Smith had served as a 2nd Lt. in the local unit, “Marion Rangers,” which was assigned as Co. A, 16th Virginia Infantry, Mahone’s Brigade, . . . — — Map (db m18123) HM
The town was occupied by Union Troops from May, 1862, until the end of the Civil War. Confederate forces under Longstreet unsuccessfully besieged Suffolk, from April 11, to May 3, 1863, when they withdrew across the James on Lee's orders. — — Map (db m18149) HM
Across the road here ran the main line of Confederate works, built by Longstreet besieging Suffolk, April, 1863. He abandoned the siege and rejoined Lee at Fredericksburg. — — Map (db m18151) HM
Three miles east, Benedict Arnold, returning from his Richmond raid, crossed the river there, January 16, 1781; Cornwallis, going to Portsmouth, crossed there in July 1781. — — Map (db m41076) HM
The site of the
first Church erected
in Suffolk, 1753
To the memory of the men
of Nansemond County
whose love of God and
Country helped to found
this Commonwealth — — Map (db m76843) HM
Restored in 2007 by the Nansemond River Garden Club, this circa late 19th century fountain was utilitarian. Originally it was fed by a shallow well. Water was drawn by a foot pump and rainwater helped fill the basin. The fountain was used to water . . . — — Map (db m104361) HM
(front)
In memory of the men of Suffolk and Nansemond County who gave their lives in the World War
1917-1919
They sought not glory, but their country’s good and died that right, which is more precious than peace, might prevail. . . . — — Map (db m103517) WM
Dedicated to those who made the supreme sacrifice during World War II
Louis M. Artis • Spencer Baker • Lee C. Baggett • Joseph H. Bagley • John G. Barnes • Clyde E. Benton • Howard W. Benton • Arthur M. Bemberry • Horace B. Bittle • James L. . . . — — Map (db m103513) WM
The ceremonial heart of the Nansemond Indian district stood a mile east on Dumpling Island in the Nansemond River. In 1608, Capt. John Smith led colonists upriver to obtain corn from the Nansemonds, who attacked but were defeated and forced to feed . . . — — Map (db m2671) HM
The principal villages of the Nansemond Indians stood just east of here on the Nansemond River. The Nansemonds fought frequently with the English colonists who arrived in 1607 as the Indians resisted the newcomers’ attempts to occupy their villages . . . — — Map (db m162966) HM
The village of the Nansemond Indians stood near here, 1608, when the region was first explored by the English settlers. These savages took part in the massacre of 1622, and in the war that followed their town was destroyed by Sir George Yeardley. — — Map (db m162964) HM
Founded about 1643 and formerly known as Chuckatuck Church. The present building, the third on or near the site was built in 1755 and is the second oldest church building in Nansemond County. Renamed St. Johns Church in 1828. — — Map (db m71163) HM
The villages of Crittenden and Eclipse emerged here just as Virginia's commercial oyster industry was expanding in the latter part of the 19th century. Early residents included watermen and boatbuilders from the North who were attracted by the rich . . . — — Map (db m166412) HM
James Bowser, the only negro from Nansemond County to fight in the American Revolution, enlisted as a private in the Virginia Continental Line and was honorably discharged in 1782. Bowser returned to the county at the close of the Revolution and . . . — — Map (db m108147) HM
Nansemond County. Area 423 Square Miles. Formed in 1637 from New Norfolk County, it was first called Upper Norfolk County, but in 1642 it was named Nansemond for an Indian tribe. Dismal Swamp is partly in this county. . . . — — Map (db m118820) HM
In June 1861, Union Maj.Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, in order to clear a route for the capture of Suffolk, sought to neutralize the Confederate battery at Pig Point three miles north on the James River at the mouth of the Nansemond River. At 9:00 a.m. . . . — — Map (db m2790) HM
On 10 May 1779, during the Revolutionary War, a British expeditionary force commanded by Gen. Edward Matthews disembarked in Portsmouth to capture the major Tidewater Virginia towns. About 200 Nansemond County militia under Col. Willis Riddick . . . — — Map (db m110297) HM
William Byrd II visited the swamp, just to the south, in 1728 while he was surveying the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. Byrd, and later George Washington, advocated construction of a canal through the swamp. Washington and his . . . — — Map (db m114522) HM
Florence Graded School was named for Florence Bowser, a noted educator who was instrumental in having the school constructed. It was built in 1920 with state and local funds and a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund which had been created in 1922 . . . — — Map (db m39804) HM
Established in 1642
One of the oldest in the U.S.
Site of insurrection in 1775, leading to
the Revolutionary War
Marked by Suffolk Chapter
National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century
2017 — — Map (db m118882) HM
Built in 1738. In 1775 the Parish minister, Parson Agnew, was driven from the Church for preaching loyalty to the King. The building was repaired in 1854. — — Map (db m39697) HM
James Bowser, a free African American born in Nansemond County about 1763, was one of many black Virginians who served in the army or navy of the United States during the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in the 1st Virginia Regiment of the Continental . . . — — Map (db m41080) HM
Before 1781 John Yeates established two free schools in this neighborhood, one on each side of Bennetts Creek. By his will September 18th 1781, he left his property for the use of these schools. They continued until 1861 and were sold in 1866 under . . . — — Map (db m41077) HM
Hobson is an example of an African American oystering village that developed during the last quarter of the 19th century on the James River, the Chesapeake Bay and their tributaries. As in other watermen communities, people also farmed and worked at . . . — — Map (db m39806) HM
The first Ruritan Club was founded here in
Holland, Va., on May 21, 1928.
Ruritan is an organization of rural
leaders striving through community
service, fellowship and good will to
make the rural community a better place
in which to . . . — — Map (db m48531) HM
(south facing panels)
Community Service
Fellowship
Goodwill
Near this monument was
founded the first
Ruritan Club
May 21, 1928
Holland, Virginia
(north facing panel)
Charter Members
E. T. Batten • W. E. . . . — — Map (db m161833) HM
Federal forces occupied Suffolk on 12 May 1862 and built earthworks around the town; Brig. Gen. John J. Peck took command in October. Cavalry vedettes, or mounted pickets, were posted some distance outside the fortifications to warn of Confederate . . . — — Map (db m18152) HM
George Fox. Founder of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) visited in this area and held a meeting in 1672. As a result Somerton Friends Meeting was soon established. — — Map (db m113761) HM
Isle of Wight County. Area 314 Square Miles. One of the original Shires formed in 1634. Its name was at first Warrascoyack, changed in 1637 to Isle of Wight. Of the oldest churches in the United States is in this county. . . . — — Map (db m76777) HM
Two miles south stood the Nansemond County Training School, the first high school in the county for African American students. It was constructed in 1924 with $5,000 contributed by African American families, $11,500 in public money, and $1,500 from . . . — — Map (db m22945) HM
George Fox founder of the Religious Society of Friends also known as Quakers passed through this community in 1672 holding the first local meeting of Friends in a field located approximately 1.5 miles east of this location at what is today the . . . — — Map (db m112482) HM
George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), visited this area in 1672 during a missionary journey to Virginia and North Carolina. His visit encouraged Friends who had settled nearby and led to the organization of Somerton . . . — — Map (db m113769) HM
The Huntersville School was built in 1930-31 as a Rosenwald School. The Julius Rosenwald fund provided $1,000 toward the construction, with contributions from African Americans and the local government provided the rest of its $7,000 cost. . . . — — Map (db m98267) HM
In 1868, the formerly enslaved Rev. Israel Cross founded Mount Sinai Baptist Church in a log building here on Benjamin Howell's land. He allegedly never closed a sermon without saying, "Buy some land, build a home, and get some education." In 1871, . . . — — Map (db m48934) HM
Captain John Smith explored the Chesapeake Bay in the early 1600s seeking precious metals and a passage to Asia. He traveled the James, Chickahominy, and York rivers in 1607, and led two major expeditions from Jamestown in 1608. Smith and his crew . . . — — Map (db m98298) HM
Washington and company used this spot as their Dismal Swamp headquarters. The town was built prior to the Nimmo survey of 1763 on Riddick 402 acre patent. — — Map (db m93493) HM
Nansemond County Virginia. Area 423 Square Miles. Formed in 1637 from New Norfolk County. It was first called Upper Norfolk County; but in 1642 it was named Nansemond for an Indian Tribe. Dismal Swamp is partly in this county. . . . — — Map (db m113772) HM
Surveyed by George Washington in 1763. A cart road was built first along this 4½ mile ditch and the canal dug alongside by slave labor for transportation. Gresham Nimmo, under the personal direction of George Washington, did the surveying and . . . — — Map (db m93494) HM
