Establishing Control: The Environmental Transformation of Sewell's Point

By Alec Bright
HRNM Volunteer

Naval Station Norfolk (NSN) is now a sprawling 3,400-acre complex with over 50 buildings; however, 100 years ago, in 1921, it was in its infancy, with a mere 474 acres to its name. Only 20 years before that, Sewell’s Point, the peninsula on which NSN sits, was largely undeveloped land. So, how did Sewell’s Point become what it is today? Sewell’s Point would undergo an environmental transformation for the Jamestown Exposition and the 300th anniversary of the arrival of British settlers to North America. Eighty thousand plants and trees were brought in to populate the once swampy area. The entirety of Lake Sanford was drained. The early efforts of the Exposition planners proved to the Navy the possibility of shaping a landscape to suit their own needs. Less than ten years after the Exposition, the Navy purchased the land on Sewell’s Point and began development, which continued for the next 100+ years, into the present day. In a sense, this is the story of how Naval Station Norfolk was created from the ground up.

Above is a map of the Jamestown Exposition Fairgrounds. Created by William H. Lee, a cartographer, the map was included in a pamphlet given to Exposition visitors. (Theodore Roosevelt Center)

Many already know the story of Admiral’s Row, the famous Jamestown Exposition homes where flag officers now live on base; however, few consider why or how this location came to be the Navy’s home in the mid-Atlantic. While the geographic importance of Hampton Roads was well known, as proven by all navies during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, Sewell’s Point, named after an early British settler, had largely been overlooked before the early 20th century. Apart from a small Confederate outpost, a waterfront hotel, and some hunting land, the peninsula had been left in its natural state. In 1903, when the site selection committee for the Jamestown Exposition chose Sewell’s Point for the World’s Fair, they did so to fulfill the Virginia’s General Assembly request that the fair be “held at some place adjacent to the waters of Hampton Roads whereon all navies of all nations may rendezvous.”[1]

Overseen by W.H. Manning, an experienced landscape designer, the transformation began in January 1905 with the removal of dense vines and shrubs from the 400-acre lot. From February to April 1905, local companies removed pine trees on the fairgrounds, replacing them with 30,000 willow trees. By May 23, 1905, the entire 100-acre lake, Lake Sanford, had been completely drained. Tributaries of nearby Bush Creek were also drained to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and provide more space for Exposition buildings. Although some parts of the existing environment were left for viewers to enjoy the “natural beauty of the land,” they were sparse.

After a report on flood mitigation techniques from Manhattan, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and Atlantic City, the board of directors agreed to construct bulkheads and jetties on Sewell’s Point. A system of fast-draining pipes and stilts raised buildings above the marshy waterline on the western part of the fairgrounds and mitigated the mosquito problem. These jetties and other anti-flood protections were drawn into the Exposition’s building plans.

An image taken in 1909 of the two piers build at the end of Sewell’s Point for the Exposition; known as the “Godspeed” and “Susan Constant” piers. (Wikimedia Commons)

When the Navy came looking for a home in the mid-Atlantic for the upcoming war in Europe, it was known that this land could be tamed. W.H. Manning, his crew, and the rest of those involved in the Jamestown Exposition had morphed a small, rough forest into an urban center suited to host both ships and people. Over the next 100 years, the Navy would face many more challenges in maintaining its control over Sewell’s Point. However, after adding more than 2,900 acres to the naval station, the Navy continues to demonstrate willingness and ability to form the landscape to suit its needs in the area.

Circled are some of the remaining buildings from the Jamestown Exposition, Admirals Row. Today, these houses are occupied by Navy flag officers. (Google Earth)

Notes:
[1] Charles Keiley, ed., The Official Blue Book of the Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition, A.D. 1907: The Only Authorized History of the Celebration (Norfolk, VA: The Colonial Publishing Company, 1909), 37.

The Great Arch: Focal Point of the 1907 Jamestown Exhibition

By Katherine A. Renfrew
Hampton Roads Naval Museum Registrar

After months of design and construction delays, funding issues, inclement weather and labor problems, the Government Piers and Great Arch at the Jamestown Exposition finally opened to the public on September 14, 1907, scarcely 16 days and two months shy of the closing of the exposition. According to The Official Blue Book of the Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition, 1907, the Government Piers and Great Arch were “the most important single contribution which the United States Government made to the Jamestown Exposition…It was a magnificent gift and added wonderfully to the beauty of the exposition.” Since it was located in front of Raleigh Square, it was one of the principal landscaping features at the exposition. However, it was an eyesore for most of the exposition which had officially opened on April 26, 1907.

Visitors to the Jamestown Exposition of 1907 could buy postcards featuring idealized versions of the exposition grounds at Sewells Point, such as the Great Arch and Government Pier shown here, to send to their friends and loved ones.  The actual scenes they would have encountered, however, were quite different. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum collection) 

The Great Arch over the entrance to the Government Piers as it appeared during the Jamestown Exposition of 1907.   (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1907_02 /RG 71-CA, Box 324, Folder C)

The government appropriated $400,000 for the project in June of 1906 with another $65,000 approved for additional dredging the following February. The plans were not submitted by the Exposition’s Board of Design until September of 1906. The contractor, Scofield Company of Philadelphia, began construction sometime in December of the same year.   

Funds for the project were contingent on an agreement between the Jamestown Exposition Company and the government. The company agreed to operate, manage and illuminate the piers at their own expense; and allow any craft that was part of the navy or foreign navy to participate in the celebration and have free access to the basin and piers. 

Measuring 150 between the two sides at the water line and a maximum height of 30 above mean high water, the arch was a “veritable triumph of engineering skill."  The structure was built exclusively of reinforced concrete; and was secured by two hundred and twenty piles driven in the abutment on either side. Pergolas, colonnades and kiosks enhanced its appearance. One of the towers housed a wireless telegraph station which was operated by the government.  The most outstanding feature was the view. When standing at the top of the arch, one “not only [had] the best view of the exposition, but an excellent picture of the surrounding territory."   

The Great Arch offered a picturesque location to hold celebrations. The most notable was held by the Japanese delegation on Japan Day, October 2, 1907.  That evening Harry Tucker, President of the Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition, welcomed the Japanese. In return, Vice-Consul-General, S. Suzuki and T. Fukushima of Tokio[sic] Academy gave speeches followed by the “Feast of Lanterns” and “Water Carnival." Both were striking displays. Three thousand people carried lighted lanterns across the arch; and boats decorated with lanterns hovered under and around the arch in the basin.  

The Seaplanes and their runways were part of the official “Lagoon” area, October 29, and December 30, 1918. (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1918_12 & _5 / RG 71-CA, Box 324, Folder B & Box 313, Folder C)

Sadly, the arch fell into disrepair after the exposition closed; and was never restored to its former grandeur. In 1917, when the U.S. Navy purchased the property, the basin, piers and arch officially became the “Lagoon” unit where the Navy’s boat crews and seaplanes operated. The “Arch Look-Out Station” tower and telegraph poles were maintained on top of the arch. 

Aerial view of the arch several years after the U.S. Navy moved in.  All the decorative details were removed from the arch and replaced with signal towers.  The buildings on the left and right of the piers were used for seaplane hangars, May, 5, 1919. (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1919_01 / RG 71-CA, Box 312, Folder A)

Up-close image of the arch showing Building 17, the “Arch Lookout Station” in the Lagoon unit, May 2, 1922. (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1922_01 / RG 71-CA, Box 312, Folder C)

By 1928, the Great Arch had ceased to be of any use to the Navy. Largely ignored and unmaintained, the arch became rubble, practically falling into the basin. Original Naval Operating Base maps reveal that the arch was removed sometime between June 1943 and 1944. The Great Arch was no more.

By 1928, Building 17 had been removed and the arch had all but completely fallen in the water.  Both pictures show the deterioration of the arch, February, 10, 1928. (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1928_01 & _02 / RG 71-CA, Box 312, Folder C)

Aerial view of the base showing the arch, May 13, 1941. (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1941_03 / RG 71-CA, Box 312, Folder A)

Aerial view of the base showing the arch, May 13, 1941. (National Archives and Records Administration, NSNorfolk-1941_03 / RG 71-CA, Box 312, Folder A)

This brief history of the Great Arch is the seventh in a series of blogs illustrating the development of Naval Station Norfolk. Unless otherwise noted, the photographs in this series represent the results of a research project seeking images of Hampton Roads naval installations at the National Archives and Records Administration. This research, performed by the Southeastern Archaeological Research, Incorporated (SEARCH) was funded by Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic as part of an ongoing effort to provide information on historic architectural resources at navy bases in Hampton Roads. The museum is pleased to present these images for the benefit of the general public and interested historians. As far as we know, all of these images are in the public domain and none of them have been published before.

In Praise of the Divine Miss M

By Joseph Judge

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Curator

The actor Will Smith, in one of his movies, donned a pair of sunglasses and told Tommy Lee Jones, “The difference between you and me is that I make this look good.”   Since 1993 one person in particular has made the Hampton Roads Naval Museum look good:  Marta Nelson Joiner.  Now, in 2016, she is leaving us for a well-deserved retirement.

This is what HRNM looked like in 1994.  The can of Coke was not Marta’s.

Marta came on board at the museum’s original home, the Pennsylvania House on the Naval Station, where she almost immediately plunged into the biggest project in our history: the relocation to Nauticus in downtown Norfolk in 1994.  Moving an entire museum required extensive and daily reviews of complicated exhibit elements, audio-visual material, security cameras and artifact transportation.  The museum opened successfully, no small thanks to Marta.


Cuba Libre (above and below) – two images of the Spanish-American War centennial exhibit.

After that, the problem is not what to say about Marta but how to stop saying things about Marta.  She designed the museum’s largest and most ambitious temporary exhibit in 1998: Cuba Libre: The Spanish-American War in the Caribbean.  Marta had to fit the new exhibit over the museum’s permanent exhibits – no small feat – and the result was informative and beautiful. 

Some of us, including Marta on the right, the day the Wisconsin opened.  The smiles are real.

Marta was also instrumental in design and planning for the second biggest project in the museum’s history: the opening of the battleship Wisconsin was an attraction in 2000.  Marta helped to plan the tour route, the location of docent stations, the development of a logo and a wide variety of shipboard interpretive signage in 2001.  When it opened, the Wisconsin was the most popular tourist attraction in the state of Virginia.  In one of the more exciting episodes of her career, the author and Marta were detained in the shipyard after working on the Wisconsin in December.  We were trying to find some coffee and get warm and ended up in the wrong place.  We celebrated our eventual release back in Norfolk.


Marta did not rest on any laurels, then or later.  Highlights of her illustrious work include the following: 

• Design and fabrication of the Wisconsin’s ship’s silver exhibit.  This sensitive assignment included innovation with security cameras and lighting. 

• Design of an exhibit for a “Bully the Moose” exhibit aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt.  The exhibit, featuring a real moose head and information about the 26^th president, required relocation while the TR was in the yard for refueling. Mrs. Joiner travelled to the ship on the stressful day after 9/11 to manage the project.

• Design of a new temporary exhibit gallery - the “Forecastle Gallery,” a shared space with Nauticus.  Mrs. Joiner pushed for creation of a temporary exhibit space (the first in the building). 
  
  
  

  

• Installation of a major permanent exhibit that highlighted the development of the Naval Station and the 1907 Jamestown Exposition.  1907: The Jamestown Exposition and the Launching of the New Steel Navy is a beautiful and insightful contribution to the history of the region and the history of the city of Norfolk.  It was also an important contributor to “Sail Virginia,” Norfolk’s contribution to the Jamestown 2007 commemorative events.   

• In 2011 Marta was the museum’s point person for remaking shipboard exhibits aboard USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), dedicated to Admiral Arleigh Burke.  Mrs. Joiner designed the new exhibits and oversaw their fabrication and installation.  The exhibit opened on the 20^th anniversary of the ship’s original commissioning, 4 July 2011.
  
  
  

  

• In 2014, she was an integral part of the design team working  on “Stewards of the Sea,” an exhibit highlighting the Navy’s environmental efforts.  This high-tech, hands-on exhibit represents an important step forward for Navy exhibits and Nauticus.  It provides immersive scenarios for the visitor to learn about the Navy’s environmental measures while at sea, to include its protective measures with the marine life it encounters.

I have not even mentioned exhibits at the Navy Tour & Information Center, the MAC Terminal, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Fort Story, Little Creek, Commander Navy Region Mid-Atlantic or numerous others.


She completely redesigned the museum’s signature publication, The Daybook, twice, most recently in 2015.  And in her spare time she has corralled problems with the museum’s IT systems, security cameras, telephones, all while solving graphic design problems that crossed her desk each day.  And I need it by Tuesday.


Accreditation is the gold standard of museum performance.  We obtained it in 2008, in no small part because of the professionalism of our publications and exhibits.  This hard-working woman served as the manager of an exhibit design and fabrication program that welcomed over 3,470,000 visitors to exhibits in Nauticus between 1994 and 2015; and welcomed over 2,500,000 visitors to the battleship Wisconsin during the period of Navy ownership (2000-2009).

Marta in her office  receiving some news about a broken exhibit.  The sign in the background was at first infamous, then just famous.  Note the (then) state-of-the-art Macintosh computer at the back left.


The rest and best part of the story lies in the years of laughter and tears that we enjoyed with the divine Miss M.  Some years, tears outweighed the laughter, but there is no helping that part of life, and we were always there for each other.  Bon voyage Marta, HRNM loves you.

Artifacts of the Month: "Admirals' Row" Log Books

By Jerome Kirkland 

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Educator

In 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired the land that had been developed for the 1907 “Jamestown Ter-centennial Exposition” at Sewells point, just north of Norfolk, Virginia. This land, and many of the buildings that came with it, including numerous private homes, would become the Norfolk Naval Operating Base. Nearly 100 years later, a set of books discovered in the attic of one of these homes would shed light on the comings and goings of some of the most influential figures in naval history, from 1918 to 1941.

Photograph by M.C. Farrington

The Jamestown Exposition of 1907 was held to celebrate the 300 year anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement in 1607. It was held in Norfolk due to its more centralized location and the deep water ports that would allow the modern ships of the Navy’s all steel fleet to shine among those of other nations gathered for an International Naval Review on opening day, April 26.   About two weeks after the exposition’s conclusion on November 30, the “Great White Fleet” set sail for its historic around the world voyage. 

The planners of the exposition had high hopes for this “worlds fair” type event, but they never realized those hopes. After the exposition’s seven-month run, many of the buildings fell into disrepair.  Developers tried to make the area a profitable venture without much luck until the U.S. Navy stepped in, saving many of the buildings that were left. Many of the so-called "State Homes" were privately owned and escaped the fate that befell many of the exposition buildings, many of which simply ceased to exist.  These were converted to house senior officers and their families.

Photograph by M.C. Farrington

Jump forward 96 years, to 2013, and a set of books would be discovered in the attic of one of these state houses that would document the comings and goings of naval officers from 1918 to 1941, some of them quite famous. A representative of Lincoln Military Housing, the contractor that oversees housing for naval personnel for the base, discovered two books in the attic of the Ohio House. She turned them over to Mrs. Sissy Cutchen, resident of the Maryland House and wife of Rear Admiral Bryan Cutchen, who in turn turned them over to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. 

Exhibits Specialist Marta Joiner competes the finishing touches on the latest Artifact of the Month display. (Photograph by M.C. Farrington)

One of the notable entries found included “Capt. E. King” occupying the “Commanding Officer Naval Air Station” residence (formally the Connecticut House), from May 4^th 1928 to September 30^th 1930. Captain E. King would go on to become Fleet Admiral Ernest King.  King started out serving on board USS San Francisco during the Spanish American War, while still enrolled in the Naval Academy. He went on to command submarines before transferring to naval aviation, becoming a pilot and commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in 1930.

Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. (Wikimedia Commons)

Admiral King’s career almost ended in 1939 with a posting to the General Board but was saved when Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Harold R. Stark appointed King Commander-in-chief, Atlantic Fleet in 1940. A little over a year later, when the U.S. entered WWII, Adm. King was promoted to Commander-in-Chief United States Fleet (COMINCH). Less than three months later, King was chosen to replace Stark as CNO, while still holding the post of COMINCH, making King the only person to hold the posts of CNO and COMINCH at the same time.

Despite reaching the “mandatory retirement age” of 62 in November of 1942, King would stay another three years, seeing the U.S. Navy through the war.  Admiral King was so well respected that even after his retirement in 1945, and several years of bad health, he was recalled in 1950 as an advisor to Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews.

Photograph by M.C. Farrington

The occupancy log books contain many other famous names, such as: Admiral George Murray who commanded USS Enterprise during the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and during the Battle of Midway; Adm. William Parsons, who helped develop the atomic bomb and flew in the “Enola Gay” to arm the bomb after successful takeoff; and Adm. Robert Coontz, executive officer of USS Nebraska during the “Great White Fleet” tour of 1907-1909.  He became CNO in 1925 and a powerful advocate for naval aviation, leading the charge to have the battle cruisers Lexington and Saratoga converted to aircraft carriers.  Another notable former resident was Adm. Joseph Taussig, who served from the Spanish American War to WWII, receiving major wounds while leading land action during the Boxer Rebellion in China, commanded Norfolk Navy Yard like his father before him, and was forced to retire in 1941 only to be called back in 1943.  Even Naval Aviator #1, Captain Theodore Ellyson, who was taught to fly by Glenn Curtiss, appears within their pages.  

A chance find in 2013, now in the collection of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, has helped illuminate some of the important roles Naval Station Norfolk has played in history by documenting the comings and goings of some of the most respected and influential figures in naval history.