Ten years after Col. William Craford laid out the town in 1752, Portsmouth Parish was built on Church Square. Portsmouth Parish served as the first Church of England for Norfolk County and was re-named Trinity Episcopal after the revolution. Brimming... Read More

Founded in 1772, three years before the American Revolution as the African Methodist Society, Emanuel AME is the oldest African-American church in the area. The congregation shared several locations with the (White) Methodist Society before becoming ... Read More

Imagine a family went for an afternoon stroll and never returned home... This is what it feels like in The Hill House Museum, a historic home in Portsmouth, Virginia furnished entirely with family belongings from the 19th and 20th centuries, colle... Read More

With more than 400 graves and monuments dating from the late 1700s to the present, Cedar Grove was established as the first city-owned cemetery in Portsmouth and remains its oldest. Its memorial markers include small tablets, ledger stones, obelisks... Read More

The Hampton Road's based 54-40 African American Quilters Guild of Virginia reflects on The Color Purple in this exhibition of their latest works. On view in the 1st-floor gallery of the Portsmouth Art and Cultural Center. History: Quilts have been... Read More

The Cradock neighborhood was built in 1918 and named in honor of British Rear Admiral Sir Christopher G. F. W. Cradock whose fleet was sunk by the German Navy in 1914. It was built on a 310-acre tract, formerly known as Afton Farm, three miles south ... Read More

Forged in Hampton Roads explores the transformative impact of African American labor and how it profoundly shaped the character and lifestyle of the Hampton Roads region. Come learn about John Mallory Phillips, the man who created one of the region�s... Read More

This house was originally located on Crawford and had to be moved when a railroad track was being laid. It was previously thought that the house was built around 1784 but research now shows that it was built closer to 1754. During the War of 1812 it ... Read More

The Dry Dock Affair, 1829-1831: African American Labor in America�s Shipyard examines the history of both free and enslaved Black labor in the Gosport Shipyard during the 1830s. Dry Dock No.1 was completed in 1834 and became the first operational dry... Read More

Built in 1841, it was used by the Union forces during the Civil War as the Federal Adjutant General's Office. It received its name because passes, which were required to leave Portsmouth, were issued here.... Read More

Colonel Dempsey Watts built this house in 1799. It was originally constructed on a hill between Dinwiddie and Washington but moved to its present location in 1808. Congressman Henry Clay, Chief Blackhawk, and and President Andrew Jackson have all bee... Read More

In the summer of 2014, photographer artist Glen McClure began his project of documenting the proud men and women who work to support a massive industry that defines South Hampton Roads, Virginia. This exhibition highlights the African Americans incl... Read More