History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 59

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1054

USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900 > Part 59

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Marshall Parks was president from 1855 to

1885: Franklin Weld, from 1885 to 1898, be- ing succeeded by Warren J. Elliott, who is now president. Robert M. Cannon is vice-presi- dent and general manager, and D. S. Burwell, secretary and treasurer. The directors are : Robert M. Cannon, John Vermillion, J. H. Chapman. R. StP. Lowry and E. G. Rich- mond. The Great Bridge in colonial days was a place of considerable commercial importance. The State located a tobacco warehouse there and trade in lumber and grain also flourished. January 29, 1729, the town of Great Bridge was established with the following boundaries : Beginning at the intersection of Center Green Sea Road with the Post Road leading from Norfolk Borough to North West River Bridge: thence running a south course along said Green Sea Road to the line of John Caldwell and Pool's heirs ; thence a northwest course along said line to Horse Run Branch ; thence a south- west course to Thurmer Hoggard's field (called Truss) to a point from which a direct line may be run a northwest course, along and within five feet of the western end of the house at present the residence of John Hodges, Jr., to the channel of Great Bridge River ; thence running up the channel of said river to the confluence ( by a cut ) of said Horse Run Branch with said river: thence a south- east course to said Green Sea Road at the beginning. Samuel Willis, John Cald- well, William Grimes, Sr., John Jones, John Hodges, Jr., and Edward Hall, Sr., were .appointed trustees. They were empowered to make by-laws and regulations for police and the regulations for building houses; to abate nuisances; to improve and repair streets; to levy taxes, not to exceed $2 on each $100 value of property ; and to appoint a clerk and collec- tor, to keep a record of proceedings. The general law concerning trustees of towns was made applicable to this town. The records of this town are not now in existence and how long it remained a town is not known; but it must have retrograded into a village before many years, for its history as a town is not within the memory of man. The old-time races

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at the village gathered great crowds. In 1820, Joseph S. Seguine, Richard Baugh, Cary Wes- ton and Edward Wilson entered their horses for the races. The village is near the great corn- growing region of the county and still holds up as the local mart at the mouth of a great canal.

PORT NORFOLK AND PINNER'S POINT.

Port Norfolk is a new flourishing town upon an ancient foundation. Although it can- not be legally termed a town, if Pinner's Point on the east is added we have a large and flour- ishing community as the northern suburb of Portsmouth. The great docks and ware- houses of the Norfolk & Carolina and Southern railroads and a large fertilizer factory are lo- cated at Pinner's Point. A furniture factory, Armour's Cold Storage, and the terminus and warehouses of the Belt Line are at Port Nor- folk. The commercial and manufacturing ad- vantages of these localities are among the most favorable on the Elizabeth River. Port Nor- folk occupies the old Glebe land of Ports- mouth Parish, embracing the 175 acres pur- chased from Col. William Craford on the 17th day of September, 1761, by the parish, being the same property which he purchased on the 26th day of February, 1734, from John Abbott,. of Pasquotank in the province of North Caro- lina, and Courtney, his wife, and which was de- vised by the will of Joseph Holloway, dated May 5. 1705, to his daughter-in-law. Mary Courtney. On this old Glebe the first rector of the parish was buried. His tomb was re- moved to Trinity Churchyard on June IO, 1890, and the inscripition reads as follows : "Here lies interred the Rev. Charles Smith, Rector of Portsmouth Parish, who died the IIth of January, 1773, in the 61st year of his age. He officiated as minister upwards of thirty years and his conduct through life was unex- ceptionable. He was a sincere friend, a most tender husband, an affectionate father, and a humane and good man. He was esteemed and beloved when alive, and died universally la-

mented. In testimony of this tender regard his son-in-law, James Taylor, and daughter, Alice Taylor, have erected this monument."

On the 18th day of December, 1815, the overseers of the poor, pursuant to the Con- fiscation Act of January, 1802, sold this land at public auction for $22 per acre to John Thompson, the grandfather of John Thompson Baird, the present mayor of Portsmouth. Af- ter the death of Mr. Thompson, it was sold to Col. Levin Gale for $6,500; and passing through several other hands, it became the property of the Port Norfolk Land Company on July Ist and IIth, 1890. Gen. H. Kyu Douglass, the distinguished Confederate cav- alry officer and adjutant general of the State of Maryland, was made president of the com- pany, which laid out the land in lots and began the building up of this beautifully located town which overlooks the waters that floated the "Great Eastern" and now bear the great fleets of ships which come for Pocahontas coal. Con- federate War forts were located at Port Nor- folk and Pinner's Point. Here the British forces under General Mathews, from the fleet of Sir George Collier, landed on May 9, 1779, and captured Portsmouth and Norfolk.

WEST NORFOLK.

Just across the Western Branch from Port Norfolk is West Norfolk, a town which has had some bitter experiences within the past few years, but which still exists and prospers in spite of its hardships. The chief of these trials were disastrous fires which visited the place on a number of occasions, and in the ag- gregate destroyed a vast amount of property. Among the losses were some manufacturing in- dustries which have never been rebuilt, and the loss of which is still felt. But the people of West Norfolk are gifted with their share of energy and grit, and the place is rapidly rising from its ashes to take a new and higher place in the galaxy of Norfolk County towns. The industries now there and in operation are the Tilgham barrel factory, the Virginia Cedar

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Works and the Eustis Smelting Works, all of which are helping to put the town on its feet again.

SOUTH NORFOLK.

Adjoining Berkley is the thriving com- munity of South Norfolk. A few years ago the site upon which it stands was occupied by individual farms and strawberry fields; but such are the changes wrought in the kaleido- scope of time that this rural aspect has been transformed into one of more urban preten- sions. In these few short years South Norfolk has become a lively place with a population of about 2,000, and has really only just com- menced to grow.

The land upon which the town is located has been, at different times, laid off into large lots and broad streets and avenues, in which particulars it has somewhat the advantage of its neighbor. Berkley, whose lots are for the most part smaller and whose streets are, many of them, narrower. These advantages have helped to build up South Norfolk, and make it a place of handsome residences.

GILMERTON.

Gilmerton is situated at the junction of the "new cut" of the Dismal Swamp Canal with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, about six miles from Portsmouth. It was named for Gov. Thomas W. Gilmer of Vir- ginia. He was the Secretary of the Navy in President Tyler's Cabinet, and was killed by the explosion of a great gun on the man-of- war "Princeton," February 28, 1844. Gilmer- ton now has about 700 inhabitants and in the long-forgotten past. the Myrtle Isle Tide Mills, belonging to Dr. William Tatem, were located near-by, furnishing Indian corn meal for the city markets. About the year 1884, the John L. Roper Lumber Company gave it resurrected life by establishing lumber manufactories there. This company has now two planing mills there, with 18 planes and matchers, making an output

of 150,000 feet of dressed lumber per day; two ripping mills with same capacity for rip- ping rough stock into various sizes; one saw- mill, containing band saw and band re-saw, with capacity of 60,000 feet per day ; one mill for the manufacture of white cedar or juniper into telegraph arms, pickets, laths, boat boards, tank plank and shingles, with daily capacity of 40,000 shingles, 30,000 pickets and laths, 25,000 feet of boat boards and tank plank and 2,000 telegraph arms. There is a 50-ton loco- motive and 16 cars with tracks connecting with the Norfolk & Western Railway, and a com- plete system of water works. About 500 hands are constantly employed in these great manu- factories, which are located immediately on deep water where the largest vessels can re- ceive cargoes. The locality of the village is delightful and healthful.

Around Gilmerton there were a number of tide mills, besides Tatem's Mill: there were Cocke's Mill, Cook's Mill, New Mill, Willey's Mill and Old Mill.

LAMBERT'S POINT.

Prospectively, the most important of ali Norfolk's suburbs, new and old, is Lambert's Point, because here are combined maritime and manufacturing facilities and developments, which have already accelerated immensely the city's growth and which promise to continue to do so still for a long time to come.

Lambert's Point is on the east or left bank of the Elizabeth River, coming in, about two miles nearer the river's mouth than the city. Here the Norfolk & Western Railway estab- lished, a few years ago, a coaling station, now grown to be the first in importance on the Southern Atlantic Coast, and with its auxiliaries of piers for general traffic. ware- houses and projected grain elevator, etc., an extension of facilities of the port of extraor- dinary advantage in the development of its commerce.

The depth of the water here is 26 feet, mean low tide; the largest merchant vessels

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can come up here to load. Some 2,000 of all classes do come to coal now, during the year, and about 2,000,000 tons of coal are annually shipped from these piers, the product of the Pocahontas ( Southwestern Virginia and West Virginia) field.

Beside the coal piers, which are 900 feet long, 30 acres were filled in by the road as a site for warehouses. There are two of these, 705 by 140 feet (aprons not included), for general traffic. Twenty acres more have been set apart for cotton storage. compressing, etc.

Several land companies have enlisted with the Norfolk & Western Railway to promote settlement at this place, and have succeeded in building up a very respectable town. They have improved an area to the north of .about 600 acres, and between 200 and 300 residences and stores, all told have been put up, to house and supply the employees of the railroad and other concerns here. The place has many ad- vantages for such a settlement. It drains to the river, is sightly and beautiful, and is ac- cessible by means of an electric street railway to it from the city.

Aside from the piers and the railroad im- provements and works, the most important enterprise established at Lambert's Point is the Lambert's Point Knitting Mills. These mills were built and equipped at an expense of $100,- 000 by Norfolk capitalists about five years ago and are now employing about 200 hands.

CHURCHLAND.

The village of Churchland, formerly known as Sycamore Hill, is the center of the great trucking district west of the Western Branch in Norfolk County.

It has three churches, four stores, and a Grange hall, which the Masonic and Pythian lodges also use. The Churchland Academy, a flourishing school for higher education, was founded about 28 years ago by Col. A. K. Yancey. A public school is also located in this village.

OCEAN VIEW.

The oldest summer resort in Norfolk Coun- ty is Ocean View, which has been in existence since the year 1879. when it was established by local capital mostly, and connected with Nor- folk by a narrow-gauge steam railroad. In 1895 this road was made standard gauge, and is now operated by electricity.

Ocean View lies on the shore of Chesa- peake Bay, almost due north of Norfolk, from which city it is distant about nine miles. The place "enjoys the gifts of nature a situation that extorts from sightseers the most un- bounded praise." It is a situation facing the blue waters of the Chesapeake, dotted with sailing vessels and other craft, with Fortress Monroe barely in sight across the water, and the capes of Virginia close at hand.

WILLOUGHBY BEACH.

Within a short period what once appeared to be a valueless spit of land, forming the di- viding line between the mighty Chesapeake Bay and her smaller sister, Willoughby Bay, has become one of the most attractive of our pleasure resorts. Willoughby Beach,-for that is the name of this beautiful tract of land,-bids fair to become one of the most pop- ular places on the Atlantic Coast.

The Willoughby Beach Company was or- ganized in 1897, since which time many im- provements have been made to the property. A fine hotel has been built. Many cottages have been erected and others are in course of construction. An electric railway runs through the property, and steamers make hourly trips to and from Old Point Comfort.

NORFOLK-ON-THE-ROADS

Is where the great thunder-bolts of war rained during the early days of the Confederate War and on the site of the forts which helped to guard Norfolk and Portsmouth until the evacu- ation.

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.A double-track electric railway has been put in operation between Norfolk and Sewell's Point by the Norfolk & Atlantic Terminal Company. The deep-water terminus of the road lies on Hampton Roads, opposite a point between Old Point and Newport News. and not far from the month of the Elizabeth River. For some time past active work has been in progress, beautifying the place and converting it into a summer resort which is known as Norfolk-on-the-Roads. Grounds have been laid off and beautified. A large amount of land has been cleared and leveled, and many handsome home-sites sold. The Norfolk County Water Company is extending its mains to the place. thus putting good water within the reach of those who are building cottages there and stimulating others to purchase sites and build homes.

When the new streets, which are now be- ing laid out, have been completed, curbed and graded. Norfolk-on-the-Roads will be one of the most inviting summer resorts in this sec- tion.

DEEP CREEK,

One of the last two old-time villages of Nor- folk County, is located at the north end of the Dismal Swamp Canal, the first station of the old-time stage line from Portsmouth to Eliza- beth City, North Carolina, and formerly the principal mart for the juniper lumber of the great swamp : but the new era has changed the face of things in and around this old place. There are now four or five stores of various sizes. two churches and a Masonic hall; but the old time tavern is gone .- a thing of the past: there were a number of old colonial dwellings in the village, but they too have long ago crumbled to dust and ashes. About two miles distant on New Mill Creek and about two miles from where the creek empties into the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River still stands an old colonial home which was built in 1744. This date, with the name of the owner. Willis Wilkins, is cut in the bricks over the front door. The house was like many

others visited and pillaged by the British dur- ing the Revolution. It is a quaint old build- ing dilapidated by age and rough usage, and is now but a monument of the things that have been in the far long-ago. A view of the home is shown on page 24.

My esteemed friend, James F. Carr, of Gil- merion, writes as follows of the old village of Deep Creek: "You ask me for some of my early recollections of the village of Deep Creek, but when I try back' as we would say in the old fox-hunting days I doubt that I can carry the trail. One of my early impres- sions which is strongly fixed in my mind is the memory of the very large amount of juniper lumber always piled along the banks of the canal near the village. A favorite amusement of 'we boys' would be to get on top of these piles and see how far we could go without touching the ground : as there would be gaps of more or less width, it required good jump- ing and the fortunate fellow who proved the last to put his feet upon the ground was the hero of the hour. It seemed to me then that we would sometimes go a mile or two upon the shingles, rails, cooper staves and posts. They actually extended to the road collector's office, one-half mile from the village, and in addition to this large quantities of lumber were piled on the west bank, and on the east bank of the canal from the village to the locks, as much more.

"In fact Deep Creek was the main depot for the lumber product of the great Dismal Swamp. While a large quantity went to Sut- folk by the Jericho Canal, and some to Gates County, North Carolina, by the Orapeake or Cross Canal, the larger portion found its way by the Dismal Swamp Canal to the village of Deep Creek : from there most of it was shipped to New York and Philadelphia, a number of large coasting schooners being exclusively en- gaged in this trade. Well do I recollect a num- ber of the captains of these vessels. Waples, Irens. Ellis, Wood and others. They bought the lumber for 'spot cash,' no drafts. nor checks, but Spanish silver tied up in shot-bags,

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counted then and there for their cargoes. It a bottle collared, about to pour down a gill of was always a gala time for the Deep Creekers ' 'nose-paint,' when in walked Siah H. who had when the shingle captains arrived. The count- ers (men who inspected and counted the lum- ber) were on hand with the white boys of the village who wanted to make a little money for there was work for all, the boys carrying shingles from the piles to the lighters where the men stowed them. All the lumber had to be lightered to the vessels, as they were too large to enter the canal. The loading of the vessels was turned over to the mates, while the captains enjoyed themselves at the village playing dominoes, `old sledge,' and other games for drinks. At all times Deep Creek was counted a lively village, frequently visited by some of the older citizens of Norfolk and Portsmouth who en- joyed a quiet game of bluff (never heard of poker in those days) but when the shingle cap- tains were there, there were 'flush times' in- deed !

"Of course Deep Creek, like other places where money circulated freely, had its rough element, but it never interfered with the better class, looking to them for employment, and knowing that a pistol in the hands of a gentle- man was more dangerous than the fist of a bully, but nearly every Saturday night these fellows would fight among themselves, only us- ing the weapons nature gave them, the battle cry being 'make a ring and fight fair,' and when the bottom man cried 'nough,' the victor got off. On an occasion of this sort the bully of the village, Harrison C., had Jack F. down 'wearing him to a frazzle' but now and again Jack would dodge his head and give Hal the 'best he had.' After getting a stinging one in the eye, Harrison cried out 'D- it, Jack, are you fending off my lick?' 'Well, said Jack, 'I'm trying to keep off some of the coarsest of 'em.' The bystanders knowing Jack would die sooner than cry 'nough,' pulled Harrison off.

"On another occasion one of the fighters, Old Zeke C., was at the Major's counter with

been whipped by Old Zeke the Saturday night previous, but Siah had his 'jag on' and thought he would like to try it over with Old Zeke and was blowing around to that effect, when Zeke said 'Haven't I licked you once?' 'Yes.' 'Didn't I do it fair?' 'Yes.' 'Then come up and have a drink, what the devil ye blowing 'bout?' Si accepted,-in fact he never refused, would drink with you in the dark, and never cheat a drop. Old Zeke repeating, grew noisy, kept repeating and grew boisterous until the Major, who was the landlord of the tavern, asked him to calm down. Said Zeke, 'Haven't I paid for my liquor ?' 'Yes.' 'Well, here's money for the noise, 'though I made it myself: what the devil ve blowing 'bout? When at last Zeke left for home his wavy navigation was not a success, but his gravitation was, for as he turned Ferebee's corner the wind blew him down; he managed to get on his hands and knees, crawled to the corner minus his hat and hugging the post looked around and hic- coughed : 'Hic, what the devil ye blowing 'bout ?'

"But all such scenes have long ago passed away, and now no shingle captains are seen at Deep Creek and no liquor is sold there, and where the shingles were piled by the millions now are piled the high banks of sand taken from the old dismal swamp Canal, the name of which has been changed to the Lake Drum- mond Canal & Water Company. Some 50 years ago the various kinds of timber manu- factured from the juniper of the great Dismal Swamp was 'hand-made' by the old Virginia darkies owned by the lumber manufacturers or hired by them from other owners.

"Hiring days were held between Christmas and the Ist of January of each year at various places in the county, notably at Deep Creek, Great Bridge and Hargrove's tavern. They were largely attended by the country people. The negroes were put up at auction and hired for one year to the highest bidder, who would give bond for the amount bid with a well-un-

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derstood agreement that the negro should be well treated, his rations to be six pounds of pork, one peck of meal and one quart of mo- lasses per week. with sufficient and comfort- able clothing and two pairs of shoes for the year. The able-bodied farm hands, wood-cut- ters, ditchers, etc., would generally hire for about $100 a year. but a good 'shingle gitter would bring $150. The 'shingle gitters' were allowed more liberties than most other slaves. The farmers would require their hands to work from sunrise to sunset, wood dealers would exact as a task six cords of wood per week, while the Dismal Swamp lumber dealer re- quired his hands to pay first their hire which was done even when he owned them. then their store account ( nearly all the dealers kept a country store), and the balance was paid the hands in cash. These hands were allowed so much per thousand for 32-inch shingles, so much for 22-inch, so much for 20-inch, so much for fence rails. so much for cooper staves ; and I have known an industrious fel- low Joe Seguine ( negroes generally took their master's names), after paying his hire, store account and other charges, to have a balance in cash of $150 for six months work. Settling days, July and Christmas, were great times with them: the country store crowded, wives and sweethearts selecting their calico dresses. bright colored head handkerchiefs, shoes, etc .. while the 'half-pints' were continually being 'set up' by the men ; and the break-downs, mu- sic, etc., made scenes hard to describe, but never to be forgotten.

"Among these swamp hands were some odd characters. I recall Old Tom (Weston),-he generally idled fully half of his time about the village stores, yet his swamp account was good and he always had a cash balance due him on settling days. How did he manage it ? Well there were generally runaways in the swamp,-negroes who would 'take to ambush' as they called it. without leave from their mas- ters. The Norfolk newspapers of those days would contain small wood-cuts of a darky with a bundle on his back making a clean cut from

his home to the Dismal Swamp 'brum proofs ; these wood-cuts were followed by rewards of- fered for the capture of the well-described 'sprinters,' but while the swamp was com- paratively a safe place for them, and coons and 'possums could be trapped, they longed for their corn and coffee, and Tom, whose credit was good at the store, would supply them so long as they made shingles for him at half price, and it was whispered that when their shingle account overran their 'grub' bill, Tom would settle in full in a very ingenuous way, 'thusly': They would meet at Tom's camp for the spot cash, and would be rounded up upon the spot by the runaway catchers. who would propose then and there to wear Tom to a frazzle' for supplying them with 'grub' and after carefully handcuffing and ty- ing the runaways would actually show Tom a large rawhide, and taking him out of sight of the runaways would whale the bark off of one of the trees, while Tom cried, 'Oh pray, Mas- ter,' and then receive his portion of the reward for the runaways. Another original character was Sancho (Carr) .- his business with his partner was to skiff the lumber down the swamp ditches to the landing on the Dismal Swamp Canal. Sancho and 'pard' were gen- erally in the village on the Saturday of every fourth week, and on the Monday liked to linger for another half-pint: on one occasion Sancho told his 'pard' if he was so 'keen' to go to the swamp he could saw the skiff in half and 'go long' and he would 'go long' with the other half when he got good and ready. But on a certain Saturday Sancho, who was a bully with his own color, got too loud and the magistrate warned him to 'dry up' or be tied up, but this magistrate was not long nor far removed from the 'poor white trash' as the negroes called the non-slave holders, conse- quently Sancho talked back and came out sec- ond best by a large majority. The following Monday Sancho was leaving very early with his skiff and when asked why was it 'thusly' sadly replied that he had found out that Deep Creek was too small for two bullies to reign

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History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 59

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1054

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1054