The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗When the South Hampton Roads portion of the shire was separated, Thoroughgood suggested the name of his birthplace for the newly formed New Norfolk County. One year later, it was divided into two counties, Upper Norfolk and Lower Norfolk (the latter now incorporated into the City of Norfolk), chiefly on Thoroughgood's recommendation. This area of Virginia became known as the place of entrepreneurs, including men of the Virginia Company of London.
Norfolk developed in the late-seventeenth century as a "Half Moone" fort was constructed and 50 acres (200,000 m2) were acquired from local natives of the Powhatan Confederacy in exchange for 10,000 pounds of tobacco. The House of Burgesses established the "Towne of Lower Norfolk County" in 1680.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Norfolk’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Norfolk
See all 33 →Norfolk, decade by decade
67 historic places in Norfolk
Norfolk has 67 listings on the National Register, and they protect 5,740 historic buildings, because Park Place Historic District (Boundary Increase) alone counts 1,525.
Where they are
Architectural styles
When they were listed
Listed 1969Norfolk Academy
Listed 1970U.S. Customhouse
Listed 1971St. Paul's Church
Listed 1972Norfolk City Hall
Listed 1975Monticello Arcade
Listed 1979St. Mary's Church
Listed 1981Old Norfolk City Hall
Listed 1984US Post Office and Courthouse
Listed 1987Downtown Norfolk Historic District
Listed 2001Downtown Norfolk Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed 2006Queen Street Baptist Church
Listed 2009Virginia Ice & Freezing Corporation Cold Storage Warehouse
Listed 2019Norfolk Auto Row Historic DistrictThen & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (8) and the National Register (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.








