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Opening of new exhibit brings memories, information about Newport News history

Old Dominion Land Company exhibit opens

About 125 attendees browsed a collection of maps, photographs, blueprints and documents on display as part of the new exhibit, “Old Dominion Land Company and the Development of the City of Newport News,” that opened on Feb. 26, 2009, at Main Street Library.

Mayumi Machida views the new exhibit, “Old Dominion Land Company and the Development of the City of Newport News,” as the Peninsula Youth Orchestra performs period music during the opening celebration Feb. 26 at Main Street Library.

A youth orchestra performing period music, and scholars discussing historic Newport News brought back memories for many residents on a recent Thursday evening. 

For Newport News resident Barbara Drucker Smith, the opening of a new exhibit at Main Street Library, which included a discussion of early African-American life in the city, brought on reminisces of baptizing in the James River. “The exhibit is excellent,” Smith said. “I can remember when Daddy Grace was here and went down to the river,” she said, referring to Charles Manuel Grace, the charismatic and controversial founder of the House of Prayer religious group.

While listening to the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, about 125 attendees browsed a collection of maps, photographs, blueprints and documents on display as part of the new exhibit, “Old Dominion Land Company and the Development of the City of Newport News,” on Feb. 26.

The exhibit fully tells, for the first time, the story of the founding of Newport News through the Land Company records that are housed in the Main Street Library’s Virginiana Room.

The exhibit opening included presentations by Dr. Julie Richter, exhibit consultant and history lecturer at the College of William and Mary, and Dr. Michael Hucles, associate professor of African-American history at Old Dominion University.

 “In 1837, 16-year-old Collis Huntington traveled to Virginia. He played close attention to the deep water harbor on the James River,” Richter said. “Huntington remarked ‘There is no better place in the country for a city.’ ”

In 1880, Huntington created the Old Dominion Land Company and began to buy farmland of the Southern Virginia Peninsula. Within 20 years, the company built roads, created communities, extended the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad to Newport News, and created one of the world’s greatest maritime cities.

“The exhibit shows the remarkable growth of the city in such a short time,” Hucles said.

The company brought change to the area in order to improve life, attract people and expand business and job opportunities for the diverse population, Richter explained. “Huntington believed workers in his shipyard could be any color and make valuable contributions to his business,” she said.

This transformed the landscape of the African-American community, Hucles said. “African-Americans in Newport News were able to develop, shape and mold their own institutions despite discriminations.” They created churches, established three newspapers and created the Whitaker Hospital, the first training hospital for black nurses.

“The apprentice program at the ship was even integrated,” Hucles said. “This is only the beginning of the story of Newport News and certainly not the end. It will continue to grow and develop.”

Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, a member of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Board and Norfolk State University who presented opening remarks, said she hoped the exhibit would allow patrons to “visualize and experience the rich history of the state.” “This kind of history is crucial for the community’s sense of roots,” she said. “This exhibit does it beautifully.”

The exhibit opening also included students performing dramatic readings from the exhibit’s collection and a poem about Newport News. Attendees also viewed items from Mayor Joe Frank’s personal collection and received a 12-page keepsake program, which included the overview, images, background and bibliography of the exhibit.

“We are very proud of what’s being accomplished with the exhibit,” said Izabela M. Cieszynski, director of Newport News Public Library System. “It is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The exhibit will be available for viewing at Main Street Library from March 12 to April 9, and at various locations following. An online version, along with lesson plans for teachers, is available on the Library System’s website, www.nngov.com/library.

The exhibit was funded by the Library System’s Dr. Herbert H. Neisser Fund. Funding for the keepsake program and online exhibit was provided by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and the exhibit’s opening was partly funded by the Friends of the Newport News Public Library.

“This was a true community project and partnership,” Cieszynski said.

For more information on the Old Dominion Land Company and the Development of the City of Newport News exhibit, please contact Main Street Library’s Virginiana Room at 757-591-4858.

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