Norfolk, Virginia, USA
1895 - Norfolk

Norfolk, a city and port of entry of Norfolk co., Va., is situated on the right or N. bank of Elizabeth River, 8 miles from Hampton Roads, 32 miles from the sea, 160 miles by water or 106 miles by land S.E. of Richmond. Lat. 36° 51' N.; lon. 76°19'W. The river, which is seven eighths of a mile wide, separates it from Portsmouth. Next to Richmond, Norfolk is the most populous city of Virginia, and together with Portsmouth is the most important naval station in the Union. The harbor is large, safe, and easily accessible, admitting vessels of the largest class. The site of the city is level; the streets are wide and mostly well built with brick or stone houses. The most conspicuous public buildings are the city hall, which has a granite front, a cupola 110 feet high, and a portico of six Tuscan columns; the Norfolk Military Academy, a Doric structure, with a portico of six columns at each end; Masonic Hall; the Young Men's Christian Association building, one of the finest in the South; the United States custom-house; and the new market and armory building. It contains a court-house, 57 churches, 2 hospitals, 3 orphan asylums, several academies, 2 national banks, 7 other banks, an academy of music, a city library, and an electric street-railway system. Four daily and quite a number of weekly newspapers are published here. Norfolk communicates with New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Boston, and Providence by regular lines of steamers. It is the E. terminus of the Norfolk & Western, Atlanta & Danville, Norfolk & Southern, Norfolk & Carolina, and Chesapeake & Ohio Railroads, the Seaboard Air-Line system, and the Coast-Line system. Its trade is facilitated by the Dismal Swamp Canal (from Norfolk to the navigable Pasquotank River) and the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal. The entrance of the harbor is defended by Forts Calhoun and Monroe. Large quantities of cotton, coal, lumber, pea nuts, oysters, early fruits, and vegetables are shipped here. The trade exhibit of 1893 reached $86,000,000. It has a Chamber of Commerce, Cotton Exchange, Business Men's Association, Real Estate Exchange, and Manufacturers' Association. Pop. in 1870, 19,229; in 1880, 21,966; in 1890, 34,871. Its pop. in 1894 was estimated at 45,000 to 50,000.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

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