THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610090197
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: OLDE TOWNE JOURNAL
SOURCE: Alan Flanders
LENGTH: 81 lines
THE YEAR 1846 is getting a lot of attention of late with the 150th anniversary of the Norfolk County Courthouse.
As a snapshot in time, that year proves to be one of the most interesting in shaping both city and shipyard histories.
During that year, the United States declared war on Mexico and announced to the world that the nation would stretch from the East to the West Coast. In order to turn what historians call the nation's ``manifest destiny'' into reality, a larger U.S. Navy was required to not only show the flag in the Atlantic but also in the Pacific and soon, around the world. That was good news for the financial future of both Portsmouth and the yard.
In the administration of John Tyler, the USS Constitution was ordered to leave Gosport in 1844 and circumnavigate the globe. When it arrived back in the United States in 1846, the nation was well on its way to gaining recognition as a world naval power. This voyage also helped stimulate an interest in further exploration and scientific research around the globe. An earlier seagoing expedition to Antarctica under the command of Charles Wilkes, which left Portsmouth in USS Vincennes in 1838, produced a rich collection of rare natural artifacts that formed the nucleus collection for the founding of the Smithsonian Institution in 1846.
The shipyard administration changed that year as well. Samuel M. Hartt arrived from Philadelphia to become Gosport's chief naval constructor, and the yard welcomed Capt. Charles W. Skinner as its new commandant. Symbolizing yard's the growth, its borders were stretched across the Elizabeth River when the area known as Saint Helena was added to the shipyard in August 1846.
A May 30, 1846, newspaper article in the New Era detailed the height of shipyard activity for that year:
``Workmen are presently engaged in preparing for sea the frigate Brandywine, sloop Decatur and brig Truxton. ... We submit a list of vessels at this station: New York, 74 guns; on the stocks, unfinished; frigate St. Lawrence, on the stocks, nearly ready for launching; Delaware, 74 guns, in ordinary; frigate Constellation, in ordinary; sloops of war Vandalia, Fairfield and St. Louis, in ordinary; steamer Water Witch and schooner OnKahye, in ordinary; frigate Brandywine, sloop Decatur and brig Truxton repairing; ship Pennsylvania, 120 guns, and steamer Engineer in commission.'' By the end of 1846, as war progressed with Mexico, such naval luminaries as David Farragut, later commanding officer of the USS Farragut, John Worden, later commanding officer of the Monitor, and Matthew Perry, who led America's first naval expedition to Japan, called Portsmouth home. Portsmouth also played a part in the land battles of the war when it sent Company F, First Regiment, Virginia Foot, under the command of Capt. John P. Young to the conflict in 1846.
It was also during that year that Portsmouth began the transition from a town dependent upon an agrarian economy into a city that had strong interests in the industrial revolution. Along with Gosport, privately owned shipyards and marine railways, foundries and sawmills became the economic mainstays of the community and the principle employers.
Since 1846 represented the year of the ``potato famine'' in Ireland, mass emigration had a large effect on the populations of East Coast cities, including Portsmouth. An ``Irish Row'' began to grow along the waterfront outside the shipyard gate. Family names like O'Brien, Connelly, Brady and Devine began to show up on the city register.
During this period, the railroad began to play an increasingly larger role with the 1846 organization of the Seaboard and Roanoke, under Dr. William Collins, leading the way. The enlargement of the railroad led to an increase in steamship travel and a number of hotels were built and prospered near the waterfront, including the Crawford House, which welcomed a visit by President and Mrs. James K. Polk in 1846.
Indeed, 1846 is a good year to look back on. Nothing quite symbolizes the positive outlook Portsmouth had about its future than the courthouse. With its splendid new courthouse, the city's position as the Norfolk County seat was assured, making it the area's political and civil center.
Reflecting the Greek revival style of the Naval Hospital and the shipyard's Quarter's A, the courthouse's architect, Portsmouth-born John Singleton, chose a rendering from the ancient Greek temple Jupiter Stator from which to pattern his structure.
Echoing the confidence of the period, Singleton announced:
``The building is designed to be a beautiful structure, highly ornamental to the town and proudly indicating the importance of this county. It will present a front of 78 feet on High Street and 57 feet on Court Street and is in fine proportion and classic caste.''
No doubt he meant it to last and be appreciated for 150 years and longer. by CNB