Location: Elizabeth River, at the High St ferry landing, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Visited: June 23, 2009, 3:20pm

Transcription of marker: The Elizabeth River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay, runs between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk. The river was named “Elizabeth” in honor of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, the eldest daughter of King James I of England.

The river was first called “Chesapeake,” after the tribe of Native Americans who lived on its banks. They were an Algonquin-speaking people who depended on the land and water for existence. When John Smith explored the eastern area in 1608, he saw their “golden plots” and other indications of Native American habitation.

My impressions: I can get all caught up in the differences between Canadian and American history that I can sometimes forget about the similarities. And as I come to the end of the photos from this trip to Portsmouth (a city with a name that would be at home in England), along a river named for Elizabeth (ditto), and prepare to cross back to a city named Norfolk (ditto), this (especially coupled with the photos you’ll see in today’s bonus third post) reminded me that we share a lot of history from before our paths diverged.

Markeroni status: When Path of History data entry is complete, I’ll be logging this visit on Markeroni.

Location: River Front Park, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Visited: June 23, 2009, 3:20pm

Transcription of marker:

This pavilion displays a first order Fresnel lens from the second Hog Island Light. The lens began service in 1896. Originally built in 1852, the first building was destroyed by erosion and rebuilt in 1896, only to be deactivated in 1948. The locations of both these lights are now under water off the Eastern Shore.

The Fresnel Lens was named after Augustin Fresnel — the French physicist who devised the optical system around 1822. At about 10 feet high and 2,500 pounds, this lens is among the largest and brightest of its kind, with more than 250 prisms of optical glass. Only the lens at Makapu’u Point Light, Hawaii is larger.

Established in 1852, the Hog Island Light was located on the north side of the Great Machipongo Inlet on the Eastern Shore of Virginia until its demolition in 1948.

The restoration of the lens and the construction of the pavilion were funded by the Portsmouth Museums Foundation, Inc. in cooperation with the City of Portsmouth and the Fifth Coast Guard District. The dedication ceremony of the Fresnel Lens Pavilion took place on November 5, 2003.

My impressions: Well, I certainly had no idea what a Fresnel lens was (even though I’d read several times that there was one on the waterfront in Portsmouth). But, having lived in Central Canada all my life (with the largest nearby body of water being the Ottawa River), it is interesting to see all the history around here that relates to living on the water.

Markeroni status: Once the data entry of the Path of History is complete, I’ll be logging my visit.

Path of History
Fort Nelson Park

Location: Fort Nelson Park, corner of Crawford Pkwy & Effingham St, Portsmouth, VA 23704.

Visited: June 23, 2009, 1:55pm

On my last trip to Portsmouth, I came across Fort Nelson Park which contained roughly a dozen Path of History markers about Portsmouth Naval Hospital. I’m crossing my fingers, hoping that I managed to get all of them. (I’ll have to double-check next time I’m in Portsmouth.)

Given the large number of images and markers included in this post, I will spare the front page of this site and ask you to click the link to see the markers and their texts, but I’ll break with my traditional order and open this post with:

My impressions: I was impressed with the pleasant setting for these markers. That said, I was disappointed (on a hot June day) not to find more shade. Thinking back, I’m wondering what may have stood on that site before the park, which only opened three years ago.

Related to this: See Monday’s post for a state historical marker about Fort Nelson.

Transcriptions of markers:

[I entered the park from the south-east corner. When I reached the circle of markers, I moved from that point counter-clockwise until I got back to the start. Then, I looked at the markers moving towards the south-west corner. Markers are transcribed here in the order that I found them. (If there are any markers outside the circle in the north-west corner, I will have to return to find them. It was not clear from my photos if there were markers in that direction.)]

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Early Naval Medicine”

Naval regulations of 1798 state: “A convenient place be set apart for sick or hurt men, to which they are to be removed with their hammocks and bedding when the surgeon shall advise the same, and some of the crew appointed to attend them.” Aboard ship, the sick were usually cared for in an area on the main deck between two gun ports. This space became known as “Sick Bay.” The ship’s medical officer carried the title of Surgeon or Surgeon’s Mate. In those days, medicine was primitive. It consisted of “remedies,” dressing of burns and wounds, blood letting and amputations.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Hospital Fund”

The British had a custom of taxing its sailors for their health care. In 1798 Congress established the “Hospital Fund” based on the British system. 20 cents per month was deducted from the pay of each officer, sailor and marine to provide for his health care. At that time, shore-based medical treatment took place at the Gosport Shipyard. Patients were treated, not in hospitals, but in sail lofts, storerooms, or other work spaces. They had to contend with noise and the odors of the shipyard and the surgeon couldn’t provide proper care. Enough money had been collected by 1821 to build naval hospitals in key ports. In 1830, the Navy’s first hospital opened in Portsmouth.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Hospital Point”

The Naval Hospital faces a peninsula surrounded by the Elizabeth River. In 1636, Captain Thomas Willoughby received a land grant from the King of England that included this peninsula. The land was used as a plantation and changed owners several times. It has been known by various names: Mosquito Point, after the pesky critters that inhabited the adjoining swamp; Tucker’s Mill Point, after the family who operated a windmill on the site; Musket Point and Fort Point, after the revolutionary port of 1776 to 1824; and now Hospital Point, the site of the first U.S. Naval Hospital.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“The U.S. Navy’s First Hospital”

In 1826, Philadelphia architect John Haviland submitted construction plans for this hospital. This building, which houses offices is now known as Building 1, was made of granite and freestone. Its style is classical Greek Revival architecture, which was popular for public buildings at that time. Construction began on April 2, 1827. Workers removed more than 500,000 bricks from old Fort Nelson and re-used them in the foundation and inner walls. In July 1830, Surgeon Thomas Williamson, who was stationed at the shipyard, was ordered to make the hospital ready to receive patients. Dr. Williamson became Medical Director of the nation’s first naval hospital. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Naval Burying Ground 1838″

There are 840 graves of seamen and soldiers in the naval cemetery on the hospital grounds. They include the remains of seamen from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Denmark and Japan. The oldest known burial was a sailor who fell from the rigging of the USS CONSTITUTION (Old Ironsides). There are Union and Confederate graves, including those of soldiers, as well as victims of the 1855 Yellow Fever epidemic. The cemetery contains 113 graves marked unknown and three recipients of the Medal of Honor. Some headstones were erected by shipmates and include the names of famous ships.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Yellow Fever Epidemic”

In June 1855, the steamer Franklin put into Norfolk for repairs while sailing from the West Indies to New York. Mosquitoes carrying yellow fever escaped when the vessel docked. The Naval Hospital’s first yellow fever patients came from Gosport’s Marine barracks. As the mosquitoes spread, the local population quickly succumbed to the disease. By August, 20 to 70 citizens per day were stricken. In desperation, representatives of Portsmouth appealed to the Navy to treat townspeople. The hospital was then opened to the local population and 587 citizens were treated. In appreciation, the Common Council of Portsmouth presented gold medals to six naval surgeons.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“The Navy’s First Corps School 1902″

On June 17, 1898, President William McKinley signed a bill establishing the Navy Hospital Corps. Navy Corpsmen are trained in the science of health and nursing skills necessary to provide proper patient care at hospitals, ships at sea and to the U.S. Marine Corps. The first Navy Corps school graduation took place at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in December 1902 when 28 students completed the course. The outstanding lifesaving record of the Corps, while caring for the sick and wounded during battle and peacetime, has made it one of the most decorated among the military services.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Building 215, Tidewater’s First Skyscraper 1960″

Building 215 was constructed to provide a much needed modern hospital and to centralize the medical departments scattered around the base. The 500-bed hospital became the command’s second primary hospital facility when commissioned in April 1960. Towering 17 stories, it was the tallest all-welded steel-framed building from New York to Miami. Along with the latest medical equipment, it had a cobbler shop, tailor shop, entertainment auditorium, Navy Exchange and modern galley. In 1973, twelve American prisoners of war from Vietnam were received on the 12th floor, where they were reunited with family and given time to recuperate.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Hospital Renovation 1907–1910″

By 1900, time and use had taken its toll on the hospital building. In October 1907, the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ordered hospital personnel to remove patients to tent-covered wooden platforms constructed several hundred yards away from the building. Patient care took place in these tents for nearly a year and a half while the hospital was renovated. During this period, two new wings and the Jeffersonian dome were added. The hospital reopened in February 1909. From 1910 to 1940, surgeries were performed under the dome by skylight. The dome is now a Hampton Roads landmark for locals and mariners who travel the Inland Waterway.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“World War II and Korea 1937–1953″

World War II created the need to rapidly expand the hospital in 1941. The $1.5 million program increased the number of hospital beds to 3,441. A dental clinic, ships service, library and a bank were added. The staff — medical officers, nurses, corpsmen, marines and civilians — swelled to 3,055. On a single day in August 1944, there were 2,997 patients. Between 1937 and 1948, residency and intern programs were established through the Graduate Medical Education system. The sprawling facility escaped post-war downsizing from the expansion of two world wars and went on to serve during the Korean War.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“World War I 1917–1918″

When the United States entered World War I, immediate steps were taken to expand the hospital. Several temporary wood-framed buildings were constructed to accommodate the ever-growing number of patients. These buildings included 34 patient pavilions and four Hospital Corps barracks. In the course of one month during 1917, the patients increased from 200 to 1,405. The largest monthly admissions were in October 1918 when the number of patients reached 2,257. Treatment of measles and mumps accounted for half of the patients. The hospital also treated large numbers of patients during the Great Influenza Outbreak of 1918.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Navy Nurse Corps 1908″

The Navy Nurse Corps was created by Congress in 1908, allowing women to perform duties that previously had been done by men. They held no rank and were titled “Nurse.” The first 20 to graduate were known as the “Sacred Twenty,” and of them, three reported for duty at Portsmouth in April 1909. Among them was Lenah Higbee, who became Chief Nurse at Portsmouth, and later became the second Superintendent of Nurses for the U.S. Navy. In 1964, the Secretary of the Navy signed his approval to allow male nurses in the Corps.

* * * * *

[The sunlight reflecting off my photo of the next marker made some words difficult to decipher. Square brackets below indicate uncertainty in transcription.]

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Spanish — American War 1898″

After the Spanish defeat at the battle of Santiago, Cuba, in July 1858, the sick and injured needed treatment. The newly converted hospital ship USS Solace transported 55 sick U.S. Navy and 48 wounded [sailors] to the hospital. The Spanish prisoners suffered mostly from burns and were placed in the North [Wing. The] hospital staff treated these patients, not as enemies, but as fellow seamen in distress. After the war, [Admiral] Pascual Cevera and Captain Victor M. Concas of the Spanish Navy praised the compassion and [humanitari-]an acts of kindness extended to them and their countrymen by Portsmouth Naval Hospital.

* * * * *

PORTSMOUTH NAVAL HOSPITAL
“Civil War 1861–1865″

Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. On April 20, the Governor ordered the 3rd Virginia regiment to occupy and fortify the Naval Hospital grounds. A battery of earthen works was hastily erected on the point and renamed Fort Nelson, after the revolutionary fort of 1776 to 1824. During the Confederate occupation, the hospital served as a medical facility and a fort. The Union retook the area on May 10, 1862, and until the end of the war, the hospital cared for Union soldiers and sailors. In 1865, the hospital treated nearly 1,300 patients.

And there, we have more than I expected to find on historical markers about the naval hospital at Portsmouth.

Have a great Fourth of July weekend, and I’ll be back with more historic sites and markers beginning Monday!

Location: Crawford Pkwy, just west of Court St, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Visited: June 23, 2009, 1:40pm

Transcription of marker:

Craney Island played a significant role in the War of 1812, flying the Flag of 1795, with fifteen stars and stripes. American defenders held off overwhelming British forces there on June 22, 1813.

Two hundred British soldiers were killed, thirteen taken prisoner and forty deserted. There were no American casualties. This successful battle saved Norfolk, Portsmouth and the Gosport Shipyard from British occupation and destruction.

The USS Merrimack (1856–1861) was at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1861, when Virginia seceded from the Union. The Federal forces burned and sank the Merrimack as they withdrew from the Navy Yard.

The Confederates salvaged the ship and converted her to an ironclad. She was commissioned the CSS Virginia in February 1862.

In May of 1862, as the Confederates abandoned the Norfolk area, efforts were made to lighten the Virginia enough to allow her to move up the James River. Unable to do so, she was destroyed by her crew off Craney Island on May 11.

My impressions: More War of 1812. And I’ll confess that about all I remember from what I learned of that war in history class was “We won.” Oh yes, “and the Americans think they did.” I know the definition of “win” is what is important in figuring out what one believes about the war, but as usual, I lack the knowledge of what happened to even begin to understand it. Maybe a library trip is in my future, so I can pick up the history that isn’t condensed into only a few paragraphs on a marker here and there.

Given my understanding of the geography, this seems like a strange location for a marker about Craney Island, presumably there because of the desire for the Path of History to be a walkable path.

I also received word, via a Flickr comment, that next month a historical marker will be unveiled commemorating the Battle of Craney Island. (From further research, I believe that this will be a state historical marker, but can’t confirm that detail yet.) Unfortunately, it appears that my schedule won’t permit me to attend the unveiling, but I definitely hope to get there in the days after it’s unveiled.

Markeroni status: Awaiting response on inclusion of Path of History.

Location: Crawford Pkwy, just east of the intersection of Court St, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Visited: June 23, 2009, 1:35pm

Transcription of marker:

The peaceful waters of Crawford Bay play host each year to a number of boating events including the Cock Island Race and the Crawford Bay Crew Classic. The homes visible across the inlet are in a neighborhood called Swimming Point.

One of the few eighteenth-century manor houses remaining in Hampton Roads, the Dale-Reed House, is located in Swimming Point. The family of Revolutionary War hero Richard Dale once lived in this home. Although modernized, the home still has sections of what is probably the oldest house in Portsmouth.

My impressions: This is a busy area for markers: There is another Path of History marker just west of Court Street. Across from that, there is a block that includes three state historical markers and a Civil War Trails marker.

Markeroni status: Awaiting response about inclusion of the Path of History list to Markeroni.

Location: Court St, between Queen St and London St, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Visited: June 1, 2009, 2:00pm

Transcription of marker:

Established in 1789, the Portsmouth and Norfolk Baptist Church served as the first Baptist congregation in South Hampton Roads. The name was changed in 1791 to Portsmouth Baptist Church and again in 1855 to its current name, Court Street Baptist Church. This Romanesque Revival-style church is the third building to occupy the site and contains the cornerstone of the previous building.

Black members of Court Street Baptist Church worshiped in the basement until May 1865 when 318 of the congregation founded their own church, Zion Baptist. This church became the second African-American Baptist Church established in Portsmouth. Located on Green Street, it is still in use today.

My impressions: The building is quite unique-looking and I was inspired to look at it even before I saw the Path of History marker. One thing that seems strange to me, given the times and places I’ve grown up, is to think about the formalized racial segregation that existed for so long in so many places, and in churches, of all places. I don’t really have much to say, but as I re-copied that marker today, it did come to mind.

Markeroni status: Will be submitted once I have gathered information about the Path of History.

Location: On High St, near the corner of Court St, Portsmouth, VA 23704

Visited: June 1, 2009, 1:35pm

Transcription of marker:

The intersection of High and Court Street was known as Towne Square, the cornerstone of the community. The square that you are standing on was known as Courthouse Square, the site of the original courthouse from 1803–1846. In 1855 the Ocean Hotel opened at this location.

Portsmouth Parish, now Trinity Episcopal Church, was built on Church Square in 1762. This church still serves the citizens of Portsmouth.

The final square, Market Square, is where citizens bought and sold their goods.

The fire that burned the Hotel Monroe, also destroyed 13 businesses on the north side of High Street, east from Court Street. The loss was estimated at $1.5 million. The Famous, a women’s fashion store occupied the site from 1940 to 1991. Today the building is the home to the Tidewater Community College Visual Arts Center.

Prison Square was the site of the city jail and the location of public execution until 1860. In 1846, a new courthouse was built on this property and today the building serves as an art museum.

The Ocean Hotel was constructed on this corner between 1853–1855 by Col. Winchester Watts and Col. Arthur Emmerson. It was later renamed the Hotel Monroe and was destroyed by a fire on August 9, 1957.

My impressions: This is the only time during the day that I felt a little uncomfortable, when a man asked me if I had some change. He was polite (waiting until I’d finished with my photo), but in the circumstances, I wasn’t going to dawdle. In fact, I don’t think I actually read this marker until I was preparing this post.

Notes for future snarfers: This intersection is quite rewarding for snarfers. Across Court Street from this Path of History marker is a state marker about an old court house. In the middle of Court Street is a memorial to Confederate war dead. And across High Street is Trinity Episcopal Church, which is on national and state lists as well as having a state marker placed there.

Markeroni status: Like other Path of History markers, I will wait until I can gather some more information before submitting this for inclusion in the Markeroni database.

Path of History
The Coast Guard

Location: Water St & London St, Portsmouth, VA 23704, just in front of the Lightship Portsmouth.

Visited: June 1, 2009, 1:15pm

Transcription of marker:

The City of Portsmouth has had a long history of supporting U.S. Coast Guard operations. Today it serves as a center for Coast Guard regional administration and operational oversight through the Atlantic Area Command headquarters, Fifth District headquarters and the local Integrated Support Center. Portsmouth hosts the Atlantic Area Command headquarters, which administers all Coast Guard districts east of the Rocky Mountains. The Fifth District is one of those districts and it oversees Coast Guard activities in the states of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Located at nearby Craney Island, the Integrated Support Center serves as a homeport for Coast Guard personnel and watercraft, such as cutters, buoy tenders and patrol boats.

My impressions: The photos on the marker help bring some life. Unfortunately, the text sounds like an org-chart walkthrough. What will I take away from this marker? “There’s Coast Guard stuff in Portsmouth.” That’s it.

Notes for future snarfers: This one’s on the sidewalk of Water St, beside the path to the Lightship Portsmouth. The lightship is a snarf factory, as a National Historic Landmark, with two associated Path of History markers, as well as being a museum.

Markeroni status: Awaiting further information on the Path of History before submitting to Markeroni.

Note: Lightship Portsmouth has two markers for the Path of History and a designation as a National Historic Landmark. This is the second of three posts that will appear here, one for each snarf.

It is not clear to me whether or not there’s an intended order to the two Path of History markers for the Lightship Portsmouth, so I’m blogging about them in the order that I came upon them.

Path of History
Lightship Portsmouth

Location: Alongside the Lightship Portsmouth, at the Water St end of London St, Portsmouth, VA 23704.

Visited: June 1, 2009, 1:10pm

Transcription of marker:

Lightship Portsmouth
101-WAL524

Lightships and the City of Portsmouth go back to the beginning of lightship duty in this country in 1820. The first lightship was established off Craney Island at the mouth of the Elizabeth River. Working lightships were constant visitors on the Portsmouth waterfront at the buoy yard until 1966, when the last lightships were discontinued in the district. At this time Lightship #101 was brought back to Portsmouth to become a permanent fixture on the waterfront. It was to be a tribute to the lightship service and to her own first home port. The custom was for the lightship vessels to take the name of the station where they were standing duty. Thus, she was renamed Portsmouth.

In 1967 the City of Portsmouth placed this vessel on the waterfront and opened it as a museum. In 1989 LIGHTSHIP PORTSMOUTH was designated a National Historic Landmark.

My impressions: This one makes a better marker, in my view, for all but the most dedicated history lover. It gives the general overview of this lightship and explains interesting things about why it’s here and how it came to be here.

Notes for future snarfers: This marker is on the walkway that connects London St to the sea wall along the Elizabeth River. The other Path of History marker is along the sea wall.

Markeroni status: Awaiting further information on the Path of History before submitting to Markeroni.

Note: Lightship Portsmouth has two markers for the Path of History and a designation as a National Historic Landmark. This is the first of three posts that will appear here, one for each snarf.

It is not clear to me whether or not there’s an intended order to the two Path of History markers for the Lightship Portsmouth, so I’ll blog about them in the order that I came upon them.

This first marker, I first spotted from the ferry to Portsmouth. Of course, I couldn’t read it (or even be absolutely certain it WAS a marker) from that distance.

Path of History
Lightship Portsmouth

Location: Along the Elizabeth River, at the Water St end of London St, Portsmouth, VA 23704.

Visited: June 1, 2009, 1:05pm

Transcription of marker:

Lightship Portsmouth
101-WAL524

Lightships were “floating lighthouses.” They were anchored at the entrances to ports, bays and outer limits to off-lying danger areas such as shoals and reefs. These vessels served as aids to navigation.

Lightships were originally placed where lighthouses could not go or were too expensive to build. They had the advantage of being able to be in deeper waters than a lighthouse, could shift positions and had many types of signals. Disadvantages included that they were expensive to maintain, dangerous in fog and required a crew of 8–15 men who were isolated and exposed to terrible weather.

History of Lightship 101:

1912: Contract for #101 awarded to Pusey and Jones, shipbuilders in Delaware.
1916: #101 was launched and stationed at Smith Island Shoals, Virginia for eight years.
1924: Broke down, was refitted and repaired. Assigned to Overfalls, Delaware.
1939: #101 was changed by the Coast Guard to WAL524.
1951: Withdrawn from duty and overhauled. Assigned to Nantucket Station.
1952: Stationed at Stonehouse Shoals, off the New England coast.
1963: Relief and last duty at Cross Rip Shoals in Nantucket Sound.
1964: Broke down en route to Boston and was retired.
1967: City of Portsmouth placed the vessel on the waterfront as a museum.
1989: LIGHTSHIP PORTSMOUTH was designated a National Historic Landmark.

My impressions: A good general overview of the purpose of lightships and a very succinct history of this particular one, though I find the date/fact pairings to be too reminiscent of the worst of history class in my school days, and bereft of the connections and color that would bring it to life. Of course, it’s easier to bring to life a bit when you look up and see the lightship itself.

Notes for future snarfers: This marker is along the sea wall at the river. The other Path of History marker is on the walkway that connects it to the London St and the entrance to the lightship museum.

Markeroni status: Awaiting further information on the Path of History before submitting to Markeroni.