THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 23, 1994 TAG: 9406210187
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940623 LENGTH: Medium
In May 1779, when the British fleet entered the river and took the city with no resistance, it became obvious that this ``fortification'' wasn't enough.
{REST} After the war, then-President George Washington remembered Norfolk and ordered the building of a new fort along the eastern shore of the Elizabeth River to protect the city and its growing commerce.
Built on about 4 acres along 100 feet of waterfront property right across from Portsmouth, the earthenwork fort consisted of an irregular sequence of enclosures, traverses and batteries on a parapet along the water's edge.
Still, the government and the people of Norfolk worried. When a second war with Britain threatened in 1807, significant repairs were made to the fort, including the repositioning of the stores and provisions. That work was completed in 1810, just in time for war.
Despite heavy fortification, the Norfolk facility received little action in the resulting War of 1812. The only shot fired at the fort during the war occurred when a deserter was executed.
Since then, the fort's history has been checkered: It was left deserted for 25 years, used by the Navy as a magazine for gunpowder and shells during the mid-1800s, turned into a prison by federal troops during the Civil War.
Although registered as a Virginia and National Historic Landmark, Fort Norfolk has never really received its due glory, according to many area history buffs.
Now, as the fort celebrates its 200th birthday, the Norfolk Historical Society plans on giving the old fort a new lease on life. Over the next year and a half, the society has arranged for graduate students in the University of Virginia's urban planning, architectural history and architectural planning programs to conduct a study of the fort and make recommendations for its physical restoration and programatic direction.
Once it has the study in hand, the society hopes to turn the fort into one of Norfolk's premier tourist and educational centers. Even before that, the society will for the first time begin offering tours to area schoolchildren next fall.
``Fort Norfolk has played an integral part in the city's history but has never been fully recognized,'' said Amy Yarsinske, author of a history of Norfolk and organizer of the society's Fort Norfolk Bicentennial Celebration.
``The idea is to integrate it into the fabric of Norfolk's historical sites,'' she said. ``But we want to make sure we use it carefully.''
As a War of 1812 period piece, she said, there is no other place like it in the United States.
``It looks virtually the same as it did in 1812,'' she said. ``It is the only second-system fortification still standing in the United States. . . and the last installation ordered under the presidency of George Washington. This is a very rich heritage in one place.''
{KEYWORDS} FORT NORFOLK
by CNB