Chesapeake Historic Preservation Commission

11/12/2020

THROWBACK THURSDAY From the VA DHR - The Sunray Agricultural Historic District is a planned agrarian community settled by Polish immigrants in the early 20th century. Proponents of immigration, Isador and Rose Herz owned a steamship company, which provided transportation to immigrants. They purchased several parcels of land in the Sunray area in 1909 and then sold them to Polish immigrants. Located between the cities of Portsmouth and Suffolk, these immigrants drained and farmed the marshy fields to create a thriving agricultural community. The residents built their own church and school and formed organizations to protect their interests. Sunray residents relied on the railroad to deliver their crops to the local cities until the Sunray Station closed in the late 1950s. The Sunray Agricultural Historic District has retained its rural Polish character throughout its history and encompasses 1,264 acres of land and contains 187 contributing resources.

#tbt

If you would like to learn more you can read the nomination paper work!

https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/131-5325_Sunray_AgriculturalHD_2006_NR_Form_final.pdf

10/29/2020

Throwback Thursday: This week we are headed back to the dismal swamp.

Did you know the Superintendent’s house was also once a Tea Room? In 1936, a field worker for the Virginia Historical Inventory recorded a short history of the Superintendent’s house for a state wide project documenting every day buildings built before 1860.



For more information regarding the house visit: https://www.visitchesapeake.com/things-to-do/history/aaht/superintendents-house/

And also check out the podcast! https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/809827585&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser

#tbt

10/26/2020

The Ghostly Haunts of Chesapeake.

Do you know any ghostly tales of Chesapeake?
Have you seen anything spooky at a old cemetary?
Is that old house down the road haunted?

Share your stories with the Chesapeake HPC!

📷: Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Park. By M. Kemple

10/22/2020

This week's Throwback Thursday takes us to the Indian River section of Chesapeake.

The Norfolk Highlands school was built in 1913 in what was then Norfolk County. It housed children grades 1 - 7 after which the students would attend high school in Portlock.

The school is still in use today educating prek-3 grade students in the Norfolk Highlands neighborhood.

Do you have any special memories of Norfolk Highlands school?

#tbt
📷 : Harry C Mann c.1915

10/06/2020

School has started! This year it is taking forms that are not exactly the same as in the past, so HPC wants to look back and hear about some of the favorite memories or things that have changed from your days in school.

In Southwestern Virginia in the mid-50's in the primary school, the milk we had for snack came from a local dairy in small glass bottles with a cardboard disc as a top. We collected the tops (to use in a variety of ways-sometimes to the annoyance of the teachers) and every day one lucky student got to carry four of the empty bottles in a metal carrier down the large staircase to the cafeteria. It was a great honor and carried out with great care. Oh those were the days!

10/01/2020

Throwback Thursday

This week's post brings us to the Dismal Swamp's logging past. The Dismal Swamp Railroad supported the logging industry in the late 1890s. It moved logs through from the mills at the dismal swamp to a barge so they could be sent off to Richmond.

#tbt

09/24/2020

Today's Throwback Thursday.
Thanks to Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake, Virginia for sharing this!

#tbt

For Way Back Wednesday, we remember William Henry Stewart born Sep 25, 1838 in Norfolk County, Virginia. He grew up at the family home Beechwood and attended college at UVA. He enlisted in the CSA when Virginia voted for secession and had risen from the rank of Captain to Lt. Colonel by the time the war ended. After the war, he served as Commonwealth’s Attorney in the city of Portsmouth for 20 years. He was also a newspaper editor, historian, and author of several books including" A History of Norfolk County Virginia and Representative Citizens” published in 1902 and “A Pair of Blankets” published in 1911. He died on Feb 9, 1912.

09/17/2020

Throwback Thursday:

Have you ever wondered what Great Bridge may have been like in revolutionary times? Here is the Plan of the Post at Great Bridge, on the south branch of the Elizabeth River. The map was produced in 1788. If you walk along the trail at The Great Bridge Battlefield and look out at the marsh at the end of the Dominion Footbridge you can see similar scenery as the residents of Great Bridge during that time. The post would have been located in that vicinity.

Source: Library of Congress
#TBT

09/11/2020

Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism

Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism

01/02/2020

Thanks to the Chesapeake Fire Department for posting this.

Today’s TBT features several generations of the original Ambulance 5 which ran out of the old Fire Station 5 in Great Bridge. Thanks to Steve Young for sharing the pics.

08/08/2019

According to Harper | SoNo firm made NASA’s dummy capsules

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon walk has special significance for Chesapeake. Raymond Harper, noted local historian, tells us the practice capsules for the NASA space program were fabricated in a machine shop on Franklin Street in Porlock. An astonishing link to an area already prominent in aerospace. https://pilotonline.com/news/local/history/article_fbba0504-36ce-11e9-9eb7-aff57986d7a5.html

The formerly South Norfolk-based Cuthrell’s Machine and Fabrication Works made practice space capsules for NASA.

05/12/2019

Thanks to the Tidewater Coin and Relic Club for sharing in a great program this morning. "Digging Into Chesapeake's History" was a great success. 84 people joined in the fun.. We look forward to having this as an annual event.

05/06/2019

One of the first notable acts of historic preservation was in the 1850's when George Washington's nephew offered to sell Washington's home, Mount Vernon to the federal government for $200,000. The house was in disrepair and he hoped to save it. The federal government declined, but Ann Pamela Cunningham stepped in to create the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the first preservation group, to raise funds to preserve the property. Thus, today the estate stands as a monument to the country's move to independence and created a blueprint for future preservation groups. Thank you, ladies!

05/06/2019

May is National Preservation Month and we encourage you to celebrate with us. Mayor Rick West signed a proclamation declaring the designation in Chesapeake, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) has a photo display of local historic sites in the South Norfolk Public Library for May and June, and the HPC invites you to join us for a program at the Chesapeake Public Library on Cedar Road, May 11 from 10:30 am to noon.

04/29/2019

Check out our event, "Digging Into Chesapeake's History", on May 11 from 10:30 am-12 pm at the Chesapeake Central Library. The Tidewater Coin and Relic Club is bringing artifacts they have found in Chesapeake to display and discuss. This will be a great program for young and old. Come find out what interesting information they have "uncovered" in Chesapeake!!!

03/21/2019

Willa Bazemore Chesapeake Pioneer On School Board And Council - The New Journal and Guide

We honor Willa Bazemore during Women's History month. From modest beginnings in Scotland Neck, NC, she worked diligently and honorably to amass educational degrees, professional accolades and political clout not only in Chesapeake but across the nation. She was the first person of color on City Chesapeake School Board, served on Chesapeake City Council and as Vice Mayor for 6 years and was an educator at various levels. One of Barack Obama's quotes totally characterizes Mrs. Bazemore's life perspective..."Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time."

Willa Bazemore was a driving force during one of Chesapeake's formative times. She died in 2002, but the impact she had on life in Chesapeake lives on.

By Rosaland Tyler Associate Editor New Journal and Guide History remembers Willa Bazemore because she tended to leave situations better off than she found them. She held many historic posts. But she succeeded at every turn because she had a habit of applying elbow grease, intelligence, and kindness....

03/14/2019

Elizabeth Curtis Wallace (1816-1868) educated in Troy New York, married George T. Wallace in Norfolk County in 1835. they made thier home at Glencoe, a plantation of 14,000 acres near the Dismal Swamp in the area called Wallaceton. Elizabeth was a prominent citizen and was accustomed to being the lady of the house, however, through her meticulously kept diaries, we learn much about the effects the Civil War had on her life and those she loved. Her writings give us a glimpse into her transfromation from a woman being cared for to one caring for others. Two publications of Eizabeth's journals, (The War Comes to Glencoe 1861 and Glencoe Diaries-The War Time Journal 1863-1864) and one of her daughter, Katie Darling (Child of Glencoe) let us see through the eyes of a Southern wife, mother and child the events that shook the Nation and how the people of Norfolk County and surrounding areas were effected and reacted. All three books by these brave and historic women are available in the Wallace Room located in the Chesapeake Central Library on Cedar Road.

Sadly, Glencoe plantation, built in 1841, was destroyed by fire November 23, 1979.

03/11/2019

Women in our history.

Aline Elizabeth Black: she brought a case against the Norfolk school board which equalized pay for teachers, regardless of race.
In 1938, Aline Black, a chemistry teacher at Booker T Washington High School in Norfolk, put her career on the line for equal pay. She had 12 years of experience and a masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania yet she made less than white janitors made in the school system, 2/3 the salary of white teachers.
Ms. Black became the test case for the suit which was sponsored by the NAACP and argued by Thurgood Marshall. The idea was, by paying her less, the school system was denying her equal rights under the U. S. Constitution The school system said she lost her right to sue by signing her contract. They fired her and deducted $4.01 from her final check for the time she had spent in court.
The NAACP dropped the case because Ms. Black was no longer employed by the school board but revived it with Melvin O. Alston. This case was dismissed by a state court but a federal appeals court instructed the school board to adjust salaries. Eventually the case went to the Supreme Court and the school board agreed to a three-year phase-in of salary adjustments.
What happened to Aline Black? After losing her job, she went back to school to work on her Ph.D.. In 1941 she was rehired by Norfolk and continued to work for them for another 32 years! She died in 1974.

Source: Paul Clancy, "Our Stories" in The Virginia Pilot 2-10-08

03/08/2019

Cornland School Foundation recognizes Women's History Month. Thank you.

March is Women's History Month!
Mary Kelsey Peake (1823-Feb. 22, 1862)

Mary Peake was the child of a free black woman and an Englishman. She was born in Norfolk and sent to Alexandria for an education. She returned home after 1839 when schools for free blacks were closed in that area. When Mary came home, she began to teach free blacks and slaves secretly, an activity she continued even after she married and moved to the Hampton area.
In 1861, Hampton was burned by Confederate troops to prevent it falling into the hands of Union Forces. When three slaves escaped to Fort Monroe and the commander declared them contrabands of war, Fort Monroe became a place of refuge. Using materials from the ruins of Hampton, freed slaves built Grand Contraband Camp within Fort Monroe. It quickly became a real community.
Then the American Missionary Association sent Reverend Lewis Lockwood to establish a Sabbath School. When Lockwood's students requested Mary Peake for a teacher, she was hired.
Mary Peake taught about six children on September 17, 1861. Her classroom? It was outside, under a large live oak tree. Very quickly those 6 children became 50 or 60.

Eventually Mary and her family moved to Brown Cottage. She taught on the ground floor and her family lived on the second. Unfortunately Mary had tuberculosis, but she continued teaching, legend says, even while bedridden, until the December before her death.
That first "classroom" is The Emancipation Oak on the grounds of Hampton University. In 1863, freed slaves gathered to hear The Emancipation Proclamation read under that same tree.
To learn more: www.womenhistoryblog.com/2014/11/mary.peake.html

03/08/2019

To celebrate Women's History Month, HPC honors Mrs. Margaret Booker, Norfolk County School Board member who became the first woman to serve on the inaugural Chesapeake City School Board after Norfolk County and the City of South Norfolk merged in 1963. In 1969, she became the first woman to serve as Chair of the Board-a position she held until her retirement in 1975. Margaret Booker was an educator and a community leader who was honored in 1973 as both Chesapeake's First Citizen and as the Outstanding Woman of the Year by the Women's Division of the Chesapeake Chamber of Commerce. In acknowledgement of her many accomplishments, Miles Godwin, Jr., former Governor of Virginia, stated, "The education of this City stands as a monument to her services."

Mrs. Booker paved the way for a number of women to serve as appointed and elected members and chairs of the Chesapeake School Board. Now, history has been once again been made in that Victoria Proffitt and Colleen Leary are currently serving as Chair and Vice Chair of the Chesapeake School Board. We salute all these dedicated women who have shown a true commitment to education and the community.

02/16/2019

During Black History Month, we honor William Edward "Bill" Ward (1933-2018). Dr. Ward was a dedicated family man, a challenging educator, a community activist, a natural leader and an innovative thinker. He spent his life believing education was invaluable and everyone's opinion was equally valuable. In 1963, he and his wife Rose, moved to Chesapeake. He worked to bring roads and sewers to some of the poorer neighbors and in 1978 ran and won a position on Chesapeake's City Council. Beginning in 1990, he became the City's first and only African American Mayor. His ten year tenure as Mayor was highlighted by unparalleled economic growth for the City and marked a period in which over 50 national and international companies came to Chesapeake. He is recognized as Chesapeake's longest serving member of City Council. During his retirement, Dr. Ward remained active in a variety of local, regional and state organizations and championed a number of educational and community related causes. The legacy left by Bill Ward has helped shape and define Chesapeake as the vibrant community it is today .

(Photo courtesy of the Celebrating the Legcay of Dr. William E. Ward Memorial Program.)

02/08/2019

We celebrate Black History Month by highlighting Cornland School in Chesapeake. Believed to be the oldest pre-Rosenwald School remaining in South Hampton Roads, Virginia, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmark Register in 2015. Built in 1902, the one room school housed grades 1-8 until it was closed in 1952. This school stands as a monument to the tenacity the African American community had for educating their children. The Cornland Foundation continues to work to spread the story of the school, its alumni and the importance it holds in the community.

02/08/2019

We hit 200 followers this week! Thank you!

02/07/2019

10 Ways to Research Your Home's History | National Trust for Historic Preservation

Have you ever wanted to uncover the history of your home? Here are some helpful tips! The Chesapeake Historic Preservation Commission would love to hear the history of homes in the city.

If only walls could talk, right? Here are 10 ways to research the story behind an older or historic place you love.

10/22/2018

Heritage Documentation Programs, NPS

Chesapeake has many kit homes! Check out the HPC library for information. https://tinyurl.com/hpckithomes

Do you own one or have memories of one that's not on the list? Feel free to share them!

For our fans of Sears Catalog Homes!

From NPR: The Sears Modern Homes catalog debuted in 1908, and it offered all the material and blueprints needed to build a house. The pieces that arrived in the mail were meant to fit together sort of like LEGOs, so buyers could build the houses themselves or hire contractors.

Learn more about Sears Houses by seeing the HABS documentation of an Alhambra model at http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/md1235/

#HistoricHouse #SearsHouse #SearsHome #HistoricPreservation #CatalogHouses