One City Historical Foundation

03/27/2023

03/27/2023

Up on the rooftop, click click click. Thanks to Shaddeau Roofing for providing these aerial views using their man lift of the work in progress.

02/27/2023

Major News - The Harwood House is getting a new roof! This work is essential to safeguard this historic structure from water intrusion.

The original slates were torn off in the 1960s and replaced with three tab shingles. Over the years, the roof and its system of built-in box gutters have had stopgap repairs with the result that leaks have been an ongoing concern. The situation is at last going to be fully addressed with a complete tear off. The City of Newport News has contracted with Norfolk firm Shaddeau Roofing who will rebuild the deteriorated wood box gutters and put on architectural shingles.

04/15/2022

Spotlight on the Harwood House this morning by WAVY 10 Anchor Don Roberts. Thank you for bringing community attention to the need for continued restoration starting with a new roof.

“It’s such a significant property, in North End.”

07/16/2021

12/09/2019

Former occupants of 5400 Huntington, the Wray family, visiting on November 29. They enjoyed reminiscing about their time living here.

06/19/2018

THANKS to everyone who attended the One City Historical Foundation’s annual yard sale fundraiser last Saturday. A number of folks bought items you didn’t need and/or dropped money in the donation box just because it was the right thing to do. $350 was raised to benefit restoration of the front porch. One visitor was Vice Mayor Tina Vick, who along with her fellow council members Dr. Patricia Woodbury and Dr. Saundra Cherry, have been steadfast supporters of The Harwood House.

06/13/2018

Folks, come out THIS WEEKEND for the
Annual Neighborhood YARD SALE
North End Huntington Heights

Sat June 16
8 am to 1 or 2ish pm

Co-sponsored by the One City Historical Foundation and North End Huntington Heights Preservation Association. Shop for bargains while enjoying the charm of this distinctive historic district. Sales at The Harwood House located at 5400 Huntington Avenue will benefit historic preservation efforts to restore the two-tier wraparound porch.

Participating households to be announced June 15 in the Daily Press. Lists will also be available at The Harwood House.

Annual Neighborhood YARD SALE
North End Huntington Heights

SAVE the DATE
Sat June 16
8 am to 1 or 2ish pm

Co-sponsored by the One City Historical Foundation and North End Huntington Heights Preservation Association. Shop for bargains while enjoying the charm of this distinctive historic district. Sales at The Harwood House located at 5400 Huntington Avenue will benefit historic preservation efforts to restore the two-tier wraparound porch.

Participating households to be announced June 15 in the Daily Press. Lists will also be available at The Harwood House.

05/11/2018

Annual Neighborhood YARD SALE
North End Huntington Heights

SAVE the DATE
Sat June 16
8 am to 1 or 2ish pm

Co-sponsored by the One City Historical Foundation and North End Huntington Heights Preservation Association. Shop for bargains while enjoying the charm of this distinctive historic district. Sales at The Harwood House located at 5400 Huntington Avenue will benefit historic preservation efforts to restore the two-tier wraparound porch.

Participating households to be announced June 15 in the Daily Press. Lists will also be available at The Harwood House.

03/19/2018

The One City Historical Foundation was recently gifted with a distinctive item for The Harwood House collection – the cornerstone to the business of Harwood & Curtis. The marble slab, measuring 16”x 24” x 3.5”, weighing approximately 75 pounds and reinforced with tie rods, bears the chiseled inscription “Harwood & Curtis Established 1892.”

In previous Facebook posts, I referenced the earlier acquisition of two invoices from this establishment. To refresh your memory, Harwood & Curtis, General Commission Merchants and Dealers was a pioneer city enterprise, which wholesaled flour, meal, grain, feed, hay, etc. It was first located at 214 28th Street, east of Washington Avenue. A growing concern, by 1900 it had relocated to a multi-story warehouse along the Chesapeake & Ohio tracks at 30th Street to take advantage of the convenient rail service. In 1908 the city directory listed Harwood as “successor to Harwood & Curtis,” indicating he had acquired his partner’s (James M. Curtis) share of the holdings. Harwood operated as active head of the company until his 1918 retirement.

The building was subsequently sold and used for a variety of purposes. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps in the city’s Virginiana Room at the Main Street Public Library show changes to the footprint, indicating the warehouse was modified for other businesses that occupied it. Some of these included use by the military during World War I and furniture storage. Although an exact date cannot be determined, it is believed to have been torn down in the 1980s.

Once a pristine white polished slab, the weathered cornerstone today has dulled from the elements and has traces of black and red paint. The latter is believed to be because it was painted over to blend with the red brick building after Harwood & Curtis went out of business.

The stone somehow made its way to upper Denbigh, possibly as part of a load of fill. It was donated by Matthew Leach, who discovered it in his Beechmont Estates yard. How this item migrated from downtown Newport News to Denbigh is the question. Leach speculated that the builder or original owner of his house may have found the piece among the rubble and set it aside, recognizing it as a historical artifact or a piece of marble that could be repurposed. Through online inquiry, he eventually traced the cornerstone’s connection to W.W. Harwood. In an act of civic mindedness, Leach offered it to the foundation. Now reunited with the place of its association, the cornerstone will help tell the story of this important Warwick County family and the city’s early business community.