The Tidewater History Collection
Historical Sketch
In 1607, twenty years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, a small band of Englishmen sailed into the Chesapeake Bay up the James River and settled on a small island named Jamestown. The settlement of Jamestown marked the origin of Colonial America. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Colony of Virginia became the most productive of all the English colonies. In the late eighteenth century, the influence of Virginians helped the American Colonies gain independence from England. In the mid- to late-eighteenth century, Virginia produced more great leaders than any other place in world history.
The southeastern region of Virginia is referred to as Hampton Roads, 'roads' being a nautical term meaning safe harbor. The name refers to the waterways of the James, Elizabeth and Nansemond Rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. The region includes the communities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, Southampton, Surry and York and the county of Currituck in North Carolina. Within this area is the Chesapeake Bay: the world's largest natural seaport and one of the world's largest seaports and military installations.
There are 1.5 million residents in Hampton Roads, making up 1/5 of Virginia's population. The region is rich in culture, thriving communities and maritime and economic development. Hampton Roads is the home of the world's largest naval base, located in Norfolk, and is known for a strong military presence.
Scope and Contents
The Printed Materials of the Tidewater History Collection consists of newspaper clippings, newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets. The context of the material relates to Hampton Roads facts, history, events, government, culture and the military, with emphasis on the city of Norfolk.
Series Descriptions
The collection is broken into the following series: I: Norfolk; II: Greater Tidewater and Virginia; III: Oversize Newspapers; and IV: Oversize Maps.
Series I: Norfolk: This series relates to the culture, community, and business of the City of Norfolk, and is broken into six sub-series: A. Businesses; B. Churches; C. Government; D. Personalities; E. Publications; and F. Miscellaneous.
Sub-series A: Businesses. This sub-series contains brochures and pamphlets for Norfolk businesses in the 1960s, as well an index of advertisers from 1945. Material is arranged alphabetically.
Sub-series B: Churches. This sub-series contains information about several Norfolk churches. Included are programs, directories, newsletters, dedications, and other publications. Material is arranged alphabetically by the name of the church, and then chronologically if there is more than one folder for the church.
Sub-series C: Government. This sub-series contains material related to the Norfolk City Government and its branches including the Chamber of Commerce, Convention Bureau, Department of Parks and Recreation, Police Department, Museums, and the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Materials include pamphlets, plans, studies and reports, information packets, and other publications. Material is arranged chronologically.
Sub-series D: Personalities. This sub-series contains materials related to prominent and notable citizens of Norfolk. Included are materials on General Douglas MacArthur, Irene Leache, a 19th century teacher who opened a school for girls in Norfolk, and Lauren Selden, an Old Dominion College history professor who became the first full-time executive director of the ACLU in Virginia in 1968. Material is arranged alphabetically by each individual's last name.
Sub-series E: Publications. This sub-series contains publications related to Norfolk history. Included are magazines, map booklets, articles, and flyers. Material is arranged alphabetically.
Sub-series F: Miscellaneous. This sub-series contains miscellaneous item related to Norfolk history. This section will be added to periodically. Material is arranged chronologically by decade.
Series II: Greater Tidewater and Virginia. This series contains materials related to areas of Hampton Roads other than Norfolk, as well as the state of Virginia. Material includes programs, pamphlets, memorabilia, map booklets, and other such publications. Of note are anniversary materials for the Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, histories of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company and the Greystone home in Virginia Beach, and the opening program for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Material is arranged alphabetically.
Series III: Oversize Newspapers. This series contains full newspapers and newspaper clippings on topics such as the annual Azalea Festival, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the funeral of General Douglas MacArthur, Norfolk tourism, Ocean View Amusement Park, and Old Dominion College (now Old Dominion University). Folders are arranged alphabetically by paper name, then chronologically within each group.
Series IV: Oversize Maps: This sub-series contains oversize maps. Included are planning maps for Portsmouth from the 1960s and a proposed Hampton Roads Beltway map from 1963. Materials are arranged alphabetically.
Provenance
Unknown
Access
Collection is open to researchers without restrictions Questions on literary property rights should be directed to the Special Collections Librarian.
Size
4.75 linear feet, 3 Hollinger Document Cases and 2 Oversize Boxes
Contents Listing
Box 1
Series I: Norfolk
Sub-series A: Businesses
Folder 1: Business Pamphlets [circa 1960s]
Folder 2: City Gas Co. brochure [n.d.]
Folder 3: Index to Advertisers 1945
Sub-series B: Churches
Folder 4: Colonial Avenue Methodist Church Program "The Messiah",
December 2, 1951
Folder 5: Epworth Methodist Church [1959-1964]
Folder 6: First Baptist, 1950
Folder 7: First Baptist, Program "Elijah", November 15, 1959
Folder 8: First Baptist, Historic Landmark Dedication, 1983
Folder 9: First Methodist Church, 1964
Folder 10: Grace Protestant Episcopal, Golden Jubilee, 1934
Folder 11: The Jamestown Churchman: Official Organ of the Episcopal Diocese
of Southern Virginia, 1957
Folder 12: Old St. Paul's Church, 1945
Folder 13: Port Norfolk Baptist Church Program, Charles E. Vogan Organist,
October 25, 1955
Folder 14: Port Norfolk Baptist Church Directory 1976
Folder 15: Royster Memorial Presbyterian Church [1953-1964]
Folder 16: Trinity Methodist Church, Charles E. Vogan Organist, 1960
Folder 17: Unitarian Universalist, Two Centuries of Unitarianism and Universalism
in Norfolk and vicinity, 1982
Sub-series C: Government
Folder 18: Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, "For a Better Form of Government,"
1915
Folder 19: City of Norfolk "Your Government in Brief" 1941-1945
Folder 20: Norfolk Police Report 1944
Folder 21: City of Norfolk: Recreation Survey and Long Range Plan, 1946
Folder 22: Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, "This is it,"
1946
Folder 23: Norfolk Department of Parks and Recreation, Norfolk Botanical Garden:
First Annual Report, 1959
Folder 24: Norfolk Museum Bulletin Annual Report 1963
Folder 25: Norfolk Convention Bureau, "Norfolk: A Model Convention City,"
1978
Folder 26: Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Information Packet
on Ghent Square and Freemason Harbor, 1978
Box 2
Sub-series D: Personalities
Folder 1: Leache, Irene Memorial [1974, 1978]
Folder 2: MacArthur, General Douglas, "Last Journey for an Old Soldier"
Folder 3: Selden, Lauren - Old Dominion College Professor and Executive Director
of Virginia ACLU [ 1968-1969]
Sub-series E: Publications
Folder 4: Account of Rolleston Hall which appeared in Harper's Weekly, January
6th, 1866
Folder 5: Chronology of Slum Clearance in Norfolk, 1935-1969
Folder 6: Escape from Internment on the Yacht Eclipse: 1915
Folder 7: Know: the Navy and Norfolk, August 1944
Folder 8: Know: Norfolk's Postwar Plans July 1945
Folder 9: Norfolk Harbor Tour, April 1954
Folder 10: Norfolk: An Historic City with a Destiny of Greatness
Folder 11: Norfolk Map and Information, 1939
Folder 12: Norfolk Map and Information, 1942
Folder 13: Norfolk's Progress and Norfolk's Problem [circa 1940s]
Folder 14: The Norfolk Story in Painting: A Twenty Pictorial History as Painted
by Kenneth Harris [circa 1960s]
Folder 15: The Norfolk Survey 1937
Folder 16: Norfolk, Virginia on Hampton Roads [circa 1944]
Folder 17: Preliminary Feasibility: Proposed Norfolk-Baltimore Steamship Service,
1963
Folder 18: The Vigilant: Official Souvenir Norfolk's 250th Anniversary, August
16, 1932
Sub-series F: Miscellaneous
Folder 19: Miscellaneous 1920s
Folder 20: Miscellaneous 1930s
Folder 21: Miscellaneous 1940s
Folder 22: Miscellaneous 1950s
Folder 23: Miscellaneous 1960s
Folder 24: Miscellaneous 1970s
Folder 25: Miscellaneous 1980s
Folder 26: Miscellaneous 1990s
Folder 27: Miscellaneous 2000s
Box 3
Series II: Greater Tidewater and Virginia
Folder 1: Atlantic University Bulletin 1930
Folder 2: The Bells of Tidewater 1959
Folder 3: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, A New Era Opens, April 15, 1964
Folder 4: Ford Times, Special Virginia Issue, March 1956
Folder 5: Greystone: The History of a Home
Folder 6: International Naval Review, June 1957
Folder 7: Langley Air Force Base, 50th Anniversary, November 1966
Folder 8: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, "A Blueprint of Your
Future", August 1951
Folder 9: Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, 75th Anniversary Souvenir
Program May 1961
Folder 10: Portsmouth Commercial Cultural Core Community Civic Center, Olde
Towne Restoration, December 1964
Folder 11: Tidewater Music and Arts 1960s
Folder 12: Tidewater Music and Arts 1980s
Folder 13: Tidewater Virginia Facts [circa 1976]
Folder 14: Tidewater Virginia In Years Gone By, 1964
Folder 15: Tidewater Virginia Maps and Information [circa 1950s]
Folder 16: Tidewater Virginia Mural 1959
Folder 17: Virginia State Ports Authority Dedication Ceremony. Project No.
1 General Cargo Terminal, 1964
Box 4 (oversize)
Series III: Oversize Newspapers
Folder 1: Azalea Festival, Apr. 1971
Folder 2: Azalea Festival, Apr. 1986
Folder 3: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, section 1C-12C, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 4: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, section 13C-32C, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 5: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, section 1E-12E, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 6: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, section 13E-32E, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 7: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, section 1F-12F, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 8: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, section 3G-18G, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 9: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel special edition, pages 18-34, Apr.
11, 1964
Folder 10: City of Abusive Visitors, The Sun, September 19, 1943
Folder 11: For 300 years, Norfolk has persisted despite setbacks, Virginian
Pilot, August 13, 1982
Folder 12: General Douglas MacArthur funeral, April 1964
Folder 13: "Rollercoaster" Ran to Hollywood, Virginian Pilot, July
22, 1977
Folder 14: The Spectator (Old Dominion College feature), January 21, 1965
Box 5 (oversize)
Item 1: Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch (partial paper), Sept. 23, 1936
Series IV: Oversize Maps
Item 2: Portsmouth City Public Schools 1967
Item 3: Land Area Awarded City of Portsmouth by Annexation Court, October
14, 1966
Item 4: High Street Non-Residential Corridor 1967
Item 5: Hampton Roads Beltway 1963
Item 6: City of Portsmouth, 1968
Revised 6/04/08