“Map of Nansemond and Adjoining Counties Virginia”

In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, counties and cities published promotional material to attract business and encourage settlement. The History of Nansemond County, Virginia by Joseph Bragg Dunn (1907) coincided with the Jamestown Exposition which commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. A larger version of the county map is on page (16 of 86) of this brochure. Brochures of the period included descriptions and photographs of municipal buildings, churches, schools, and banks. They also included infrastructure, transportation, historic homes, and natural features. Local businesses purchased display ads; sometimes these ads included corporate history or an image. A full-page ad for Old Dominion Line is on page (6 of 86). There’s an ad for J. Walter Hosier, Real Estate, Investments, and Insurance on page (14 of 86). The pages at the back  this booklet lists officials — past and present — as well as notable citizens. It should be noted that while these publications typically include obscure and interesting facts that are clues for the researcher, they spoke in glowing terms of the locality’s history and exhibited the biases of the time.

See a similar item at “Sketch Book of Suffolk, Va. — Its People and Its Trades” (posted March 29, 2021)