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The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, it was held from April 26 to December 1, 1907, at
Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the ...
on
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, in Norfolk, Virginia. It celebrated the first permanent English settlement in the present United States. In 1975, the 20 remaining exposition buildings were included on the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic district.


Site selection

Early in the 20th century, as the tercentennial of the 1607 Founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony neared, leaders in Norfolk, Virginia began a campaign to have the celebration held there. The
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus o ...
had gotten the ball rolling in 1900 by calling for a celebration to honor the establishment of the first permanent English colony in the New World at Jamestown, to be held on the 300th anniversary. During the planning phase, virtually no one thought that the original site of Jamestown would be suitable, as it was isolated and long-abandoned. There were no local facilities to handle large crowds, and it was believed that the fort housing the settlement had long ago been swallowed by the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesape ...
. No rail lines ran near Jamestown. Many Virginia residents thought that Richmond, the state capital, would be chosen as the site of the celebration. On February 4, 1901, James M. Thomson began a campaign for the celebration in his Norfolk ''Dispatch'', proclaiming: "Norfolk is undoubtedly the proper place for the holding of this celebration. Norfolk is today the center of the most populous portion of Virginia, and every historical, business and sentimental reason can be adduced in favor of the celebration taking place here rather than in Richmond." The ''Dispatch'' was an unrelenting champion of Norfolk as the site for the exposition, noting in subsequent editorials that "Richmond has absolutely no claim to the celebration except her location on the James River." By September 1901, the Norfolk City Council had given support to the project, and in December, 100 prominent residents of
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
journeyed to Richmond to urge Norfolk as the site. In 1902, the Jamestown Exposition Co. was incorporated. Former Governor of Virginia
Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 28, 1905) was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish–American War. He was the son of Sydney Sm ...
, a nephew of General
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
and the most popular man in Virginia, was named its president. The Company decided to locate the international exposition on a mile-long frontage at
Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the ...
. The location was almost an equal distance from the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth,
Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...
and
Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia * Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick * ...
. While hard to reach by land, it was much more favorably accessible by water, which ultimately proved a great asset.


Issues with Sewell's Point

Because of the isolation of Sewell's Point, the company's choice made the site difficult to reach by land in order to develop it for the Exposition. New roads had to be built to the site. Two existing streetcar lines had to be extended a considerable distance to reach the site. The eastern portion of the newly built Tidewater Railway (soon to become part of the coal-hauling
Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...
) was rushed into service, and the local
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
agreed to add substantial passenger capacity in conjunction with the Tidewater Railway to prepare to move the thousands of daily attendees anticipated. On the shore, new piers had to be constructed for moving supplies to exposition buildings. Hotels had to be raised to handle the millions of anticipated exposition visitors. Bad weather slowed everything. Another major setback was the death of Fitzhugh Lee in 1905 while traveling in New England to drum up trade for the celebration. Henry St. George Tucker, a former Virginia Congressman, succeeded him. The Norfolk businessman
David Lowenberg David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
ran most of the operation as director general.


Opening day

Opening day was April 26, 1907, exactly 300 years after Admiral Christopher Newport and his band of English colonists made their first landing in Virginia at the point where the southern shore of the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / E ...
meets the Atlantic Ocean. They recorded giving thanks, planting a cross and naming the location
Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Ch ...
. Within the next few weeks, they found and explored the harbor now known as
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
. Sailing upriver on its biggest tributary, the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesape ...
, they eventually settled at what they would call Jamestown to begin their first settlement. The first day of the Exposition had its share of difficulties. Only a fifth of the electric lights could be turned on, and the Warpath recreation area was far from ready. Construction of the government pier left much of the ground in the center of the exposition muddy soup. Of the thirty-eight principal buildings and works that the Exposition Company planned for the fair, only fourteen had been completed by opening day—the Fire Engine House and the Waterfront Board Walk having been completed only in the last two days. The company failed to complete two planned buildings, the Historic Art and Education buildings, by the Exposition's end in late November. Prominent visitors included President Theodore Roosevelt, who opened the exposition and presided over the naval review. After the opening day, attendance dropped sharply, and never again achieved projections. The Exposition Company had initially lobbied the federal government for $1,640,000, and received a loan for an additional million, to be repaid by means of a lien on 40% of the gate receipts. When crowds failed to appear in the anticipated numbers—the exposition was attracting on average 13,000 visitors daily, only 7,400 of whom paid entrance—the company was able to repay only $140,000 of the million dollar loan. The fair began attracting negative attention in the press as early as the January before it opened, as a divisive split between members of the planning committee became public. The press who arrived for opening day found the grounds unfinished, the hotels overpriced, and the transportation offered between the fair and nearby towns insufficient.


Exhibitions

In time, things improved and portions of the event became spectacular. Planners asked each state of the union to contribute a building to the Exposition. While some of these buildings offered exhibits on the states' history and industry, others primarily served as embassies of a sort for visitors from the state, providing sitting rooms and guest services. Lack of interest or funds prevented participation by all, but 21 states funded houses, which bore their names: for example, Pennsylvania House, Virginia House, New Hampshire House, etc. During the exposition, days were set aside to honor the states individually. The governor of each state usually appeared to greet visitors to the state's house on these days. On June 10, 1907, "Georgia Day," Theodore Roosevelt returned to the Exposition, delivering a speech on the steps of the Georgia Building, which had been modeled after his mother's family's home. The site included a relief model of the Panama Canal, a wild animal show, a Wild West show, and a re-creation of the then-recent
San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
. Possibly the most popular attraction was a re-creation of the
Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over tw ...
, the first battle between two ironclad warships, the USS ''Monitor'' and the
CSS Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone technolo ...
''Virginia'', which had taken place within sight of Sewell's Point 40 years earlier during the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
. The exterior of the Merrimac-Monitor Building looked somewhat like a battleship, while the interior held a large, circular exhibit describing the battle.


International Naval Review

The event included the naval review of warship fleets on 10 June by President Theodore Roosevelt, who arrived on presidential yacht ''Mayflower''. As the news coverage of
Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...
, Treaty of Portsmouth, and President Roosevelt winning the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for hosting the peace treaty conference at Portsmouth were fresh in the mind of people, display of naval and military technology was an important theme that distinguished this exposition from the World Fairs in the past. The review included the sixteen
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type ...
s of the US Navy Atlantic Fleet including USS Georgia, and many warships from foreign countries. One such example was Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser ''Tsukuba'', displaying the newest naval concept of a '
Battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
' that had the speed of a cruiser with the firepower and protective armor of a battleship. Mark Twain and
Henry H. Rogers Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...
also paid a visit, arriving in the latter's yacht ''Kanawha''. Ships of two squadrons commanded by Admiral Robley D. Evans stood off in the bay from Sewell's Point. On opening day, an international fleet of fifty-one ships was on display. The assembly included 16 battleships, five cruisers, and six destroyers. The US Navy warships remained in
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
after the exposition closed and became President Theodore Roosevelt's
Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was to ...
under Admiral Evans, which toured the globe as evidence of the nation's military might. In addition to the ships anchored at Hampton Roads, the exposition provided a campground sufficient to house five thousand troops. Military and "semi-military" men in uniform were admitted for the price of a single day's admission, fifty cents, and were permitted to come and go after that, as long as they were encamped at the exposition grounds and drilled regularly on the parade ground. This accounts for many of the 43% of people tallied entering the fair daily who did not pay admission. The organizers felt the troops provided informal entertainment and were an attraction to the exposition.


Other technologies

The railroads put on elaborate displays. The
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond ...
(C&O) displayed its entire F.F.V. passenger train. The New York Central (NYC) electric engine on display was part of its Grand Central Station modernization project in New York City. The
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR) brought a -diameter section of its new East River Tunnel. The same section was later installed underwater as part of the link to the new
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
in New York City, with an inscription that it had been displayed at the Jamestown Exposition. Other technology included late-model automobiles, autoboats, and electric and steam traction engines, each in its highest stage of development.


Negro Building

A controversial feature of the exposition was its "Negro Building", designed by W. Sydney Pittman, which displays showed the progress of
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
s. The exhibit was charged with being a " Jim Crow affair", and criticized by prominent figures like W. E. B. Du Bois who voiced his complaint in '' Appeal to Reason'', a Socialist newspaper. However, other blacks saw the Negro Building as an achievement. The organizer Giles B. Jackson felt that having the exhibition in a separate Negro Hall allowed for a greater variety and completeness of presentation, and that it could better highlight the achievements of African Americans. He said a separate building demonstrated black "capacity as a producer and the maker of anything and everything that has been made by other races." For fairgoers sharing his opinion, many of whom were middle-class Southern blacks, the Negro Building represented an achievement that few Southern whites would have thought possible: the building was architecturally elegant, designed and built by blacks, with funds raised by blacks. A series of dioramas by
Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller ( ; born Meta Vaux Warrick; June 9, 1877 – March 18, 1968) was an African-American artist who celebrated Afrocentric themes. At the fore of the Harlem Renaissance, Warrick was known for being a poet, painter, theater ...
, a black woman artist from Philadelphia, comprised the first artwork done by an African American with federal funds. Exhibits from both occupational and classical black educational institutions were represented. While the Exposition was a money-loser and derided by many in the press, the Negro Hall achieved nearly universal praise. It was the only exhibit visited by President Roosevelt in either of his visits. Although most commercial ventures lost money, the branch bank in the Negro Hall, affiliated with a local African-American institution, recorded one of the Exposition's only profits, doing $75,731.87 in business in the course of the fair.


Results

In conjunction with the first day of Exposition the U.S. Post Office issued a series of three
commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...
s celebrating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. The 1-cent value portrayed Captain John Smith, the 2-cent value depicts the landing of Captain Smith and colonists at
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / E ...
and the 5-cent depicts Pocahontas. The Exposition closed on December 1, 1907, as a financial failure, losing several million dollars. Attendance had been 3 million, a fraction of the numbers promised by the promoters. But, it had other benefits for the United States and for Norfolk and
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
. Nearly every Congressman and Senator of prominence had attended the exposition, which showcased Sewell's Point. Of naval importance in the early
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
, it had been virtually forgotten since shortly after its bombardment and return to
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
hands in 1862. The
admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
s in Norfolk urged redevelopment of the exposition site as a Naval Base, to use the infrastructure which had been built. Nearly 10 years would elapse before the idea, given impetus by World War I, would become a reality. The new Naval Base was aided by the improvements remaining from the Exposition, the strategic location at Sewell's Point on Hampton Roads, and the large amount of vacant land in the area. The
coal pier A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship. The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into t ...
s and storage yards of the
Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...
(VGN), built by
William N. Page William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854 – March 7, 1932) was an American civil engineer and industrialist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War. Page was widely known as a metallurgical expert by other industry leaders a ...
and
Henry H. Rogers Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...
and completed in 1909, were immediately adjacent to the Exposition site. The well-engineered VGN was a valuable link directly to the
bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...
of southern West Virginia, which the Navy strongly preferred for its steam-powered ships. On June 28, 1917, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
set aside $2.8 million for land purchase and the erection of storehouses and piers for what was to become the Navy Base. Of the originally acquired, 367 had been the old Jamestown Exposition grounds. The military property was later expanded considerably. The former
Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...
coal piers, land, and an adjacent coal storage facility owned by
Norfolk & Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisi ...
Railway (which merged with the VGN in 1959) were added in the 1960s and 1970s. The base now includes over . Some of the exposition buildings which were taken over by the Navy remain in use , primarily as
admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
s' quarters for the Navy Base. Thirteen of the state houses can still be seen on Dillingham Boulevard at the
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...
, on what has been called "Admiral's Row." The Pennsylvania House, which through the first part of the century served as the Officer's Club, later served as the
Hampton Roads Naval Museum The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It celebrates the long history of the U.S. Navy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is co-located with Nauticus in downt ...
for many years until it was relocated in 1994 to Nauticus on the harbor in Norfolk. Other surviving state buildings on their original sites are the Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia House, as well as the
Baker's Chocolate Baker's Chocolate is a brand name for the line of baking chocolates owned by Kraft Heinz. Products include a variety of bulk chocolates, including white and unsweetened, and sweetened coconut flakes. It is one of the largest national brands of ch ...
Company House. The remaining state buildings were moved in 1934 and include the Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Michigan, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont buildings. The Illinois Building was relocated next to the North Dakota Building. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> The Kenneth L. Howard House at
Dunn, North Carolina Dunn is the largest city of Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,263 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 9,718 in 2018. It is the anchor city of the Dunn Micropolitan Area, population 114,678 (2010 census), which ...
is a copy of the North Carolina building.


See also

*
Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...
* NS Norfolk


References


Further reading

*Cardon, Nathan. "Conclusion. The 1907 Jamestown Ter-Centennial: A Dream or Nightmare of the Future?" ''A Dream of the Future: Race, Empire, and Modernity at the Atlanta and Nashville World's Fairs'' (Oxford University Press, 2018).


External links


Hampton Roads Naval Museum-U.S. Navy Museum in Hampton Roads, VA and holder of many Jamestown Exposition artifacts and papers


Twain Quotes

Naval Station Norfolk


Sewell's Point 1923 Annexation
City of Norfolk
Hampton Roads Naval Museum

Norfolk City Historical Society

City of Norfolk website, Local History



Civil War Naval History



Norfolk & Western Historical Society.
– Covers Virginian history
Virginian Railway (VGN) Enthusiasts.
– Non-profit group of preservationists, authors, photographers, historians, modelers, and railfans

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Buildings and structures in Norfolk, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Norfolk, Virginia World's fairs in the United States 1907 in the United States History of Virginia Virginia historical anniversaries 1907 in Virginia Festivals established in 1907