“The Warwick County court square complex exemplifies the development of such complexes in Virginia during the nineteenth century. In 1810 the square contained a courthouse, clerk’s office, and jail. In 1884 a new courthouse was built; the old jail was replaced in 1899.. After 1904 the old clerk’s office was demolished. The square now contains only the two courthouses and the Confederate monument that was unveiled in 1909. For over three quarters of a century the square was the governmental center of county life, until its importance was eclipsed after 1881 by the dominance of the port of Newport News.”
The paragraph above is from the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for the Warwick County Courthouses, specifically, the statement of significance on page three of the 14-page document. The registration form describes the building’s history and selected events e.g a letter from a Union soldier to his brother describing his unit’s encampment at the location.
Of special note, the Tidewater Genealogical Society (TGS) maintains its library at the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse. Information about the society, its library, and activities can be found on the TGS website.
The following excerpt is from an article (with photographs) published in 1919 in The National Cyclopedia of the Colored Race:
“Calhoun Colored School is located at Calhoun, in the agricultural County of Lowndes, southern Alabama, 27 miles south of Montgomery, on the main line of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Eighty five per cent of the people of the County are Colored, 95 per cent of the precinct.
“The School was founded in 1892 by Miss Mabel W. Dillingham and Miss Charlotte R. Thorn, Northern white workers at Hampton Institute. Shortly before nearly forty Negroes of the vicinity had lost their lives in a race conflict. After this catastrophe the people held religious services for two weeks, praying for a school from the North.
“Among the original trustees were Booker T. Washington, who continued in that office until his death, John Bigelow, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who was succeeded by Richard P. Hallowell. General Armstrong, though in failing health, gave invaluable endorsement and counsel.
“Lowndes and the adjacent Counties south and west were of the most neglected regions of the South. There was almost no Negro ownership of land. The crop lien tenancy conditions were unusually repressive. The cabins lacked even the crudest sanitary equipment. The meager public school funds of Lowndes County were divided between White and Colored in the ratio of thirteen to one per child.
“Conditions at once shaped the work into the following departments: First, the school centre for a limited number of boarding pupils, with farm and industries; second, instruction of pupils from the cabins; third, community work; fourth extension work into the County and gradually beyond.
“Miss Dillingham survived only two years of Calhoun’s early toils and hardships. Miss Thorn is still principal.”
The complete article is available at Internet Archive. [What was the “race conflict” noted above? — Leslie]
See also: The Calhoun School Principal’s House is on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). An excerpt from the nomination form on NRHP website notes:
“The campus of Calhoun School consists of approximately ten acres and some seven structures. Unfortunately, most of the structures associated with the school’s early history have been torn down and replaced by contemporary buildings. These older structures include a dispensary, a teacher’s bungalow, and Hampton Cottage, all built between 1900-1930. The only building of historic nature from the earlier founding period is Hampton Cottage, the present principal’s residence. Originally built as one of the six teacher’s cottages, it has been used by the principals since 1947 when the founder’s residence, Thorn Cottage, burned.” The complete nomination form is at Calhoun School, Lowndes County, Alabama, National Digital Assets, National Register of Historic Places.
“One of Norfolk’s most significant remaining historic industrial buildings from the late 19th century, Lambert’s Point Knitting Mill, built around 1895 to process cotton into cloth by carding, spinning, and knitting the fiber, was situated close to the Norfolk and Western Railway for easy transportation of raw materials and finished products. The mill featured the latest technology available, including steam heat, electric lights, and an automatic sprinkler system. In the early 20th century, there were at least 23 mill facilities in the Norfolk area, an indication of the city’s vitality as a port where shipping, manufacturing, and storage long dominated the waterfront and the city’s commercial thoroughfares. Lambert’s Point Knitting Mill is the sole survivor of those manufacturing facilities. With glass-block windows and a smooth concrete stucco exterior, the building is highlighted by a four-story tower on its south elevation. By 1910, the mill served as a woodworking and wood-processing facility.”
“Under pressure from the black community, in 1873 the City of Norfolk designated an area of the city specifically for African American burials. Black city councilman and Union war veteran James E. Fuller proposed it be named West Point Cemetery in 1885, and asked the city council to dedicate a section of the cemetery to his fellow black Civil War veterans. This resulted in the cemetery’s most distinguished feature, as well as a prominent example of African Americans exercising newfound political power during Reconstruction: a grouping of 58 headstones of African American Union Civil War soldiers and sailors, and a monument dedicated to their service. It took over 30 years for the money to be raised for the monument, which was completed in 1920, one of only a few similar known monuments in the South. The model for the soldier featured atop it was Norfolk native Sgt. William H. Carney. The 14-acre cemetery also contains a Potter’s Field, or burying ground for the indigent, of 55 headstones that predate the formal establishment of West Point by 30 years; an 1876 mausoleum for a local mason; and several family plots.”
Donna Bluemink and Tim Bonney created a database of West Point Cemetery burials. Their sources included the City of Norfolk Register of Deaths, 1852-1897, St. Mary’s Parish Records, and obituaries.
National Register of Historic Places — Final Nomination Form — West Point Cemetery — #122-5181 includes these facts: “When federal policy allowed the Union army to enlist blacks, Norfolk was one of the few major cities in the South where blacks could be recruited because the area had been re-occupied by Union forces. After the Conscription Act of 1863 went into effect, northern recruiters flocked to Norfolk and offered bonuses of $300 to blacks who were willing to serve as substitutes for white draftees. The large amount of money that local blacks received led to the establishment of a bank for freedmen in Norfolk and it served as a model for freedmen’s banks in other cities.1 In addition to local blacks serving in northern units, they enlisted in the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Regiments on the peninsula, and the 36th, 37th, and 38th Infantry Regiments which were organized in Norfolk and Portsmouth. About 1200 local blacks served. They distinguished themselves at the battles of Chaffin Farms, New Market Heights, Fair Oaks, Dutch Gap, and the sieges of Petersburg and Richmond. Many were cited for bravery and awarded medals.”
While researching the lives of my great-great-grandfather Edward R. Pitt and his brother William Thomas Pitt of Norfolk County, Virginia, I found fascinating (and sometimes disturbing) details about the civilian and military experiences of those who served in the 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry.
The regiment included free men, freedmen, freedom-seekers and white officers from the United States and abroad. It was organized at Camp Hamilton, Virginia in 1863, attached to Fortress Monroe, Virginia in 1864, and mustered out at Brazos Santiago, Texas in 1866.
1st U.S. Colored Cavalry 