Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, January 11, 1953, page 1
“On Dec. 18, 1854, George A. Wilson of Norfolk County donated 175 acres to the county overseers for construction of houses for the poor. Wilson had originally acquired the land at an auction, for the sum of $1,685….
“In 1929, the Norfolk County Supervisors voted to send the eight remaining poorhouse residents to live at the Norfolk Almshouse. The county paid the city of Norfolk one dollar per day plus clothing for each of them. Thus in early 1930, the Norfolk County Farm closed….
“The wooded area behind present-day Chesapeake Municipal Center was the final resting place for many of the former occupants of the poorhouse, at least until their bones were unearthed in 1997 to make room for construction of the multimillion-dollar Chesapeake Jail addition. All the bones discovered were cremated and buried in nearby Chesapeake Memorial Gardens….”
Raymond Harper. “Where Did the Poor and Infirm Live During the 19th Century? The Norfolk County Poorhouse,” The Virginian-Pilot, February 11, 2018, page
Images courtesy of Norfolk County Historical Society, Wallace Memorial History Room, Chesapeake, Virginia. Archivist/Historian, Robert B. Hitchings.
1st U.S. Colored Cavalry 
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