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arm No, 10-300 REV. 19/77) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE ENTER10R NATIONAL PARK SERVICE qATIONAZ REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMXNATTQN-. FORM : 9- (3- f/. '5' )J EtkP 10-15- f'j SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COM PLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS NAME HISTORIC City Point- Historic District AND/OR COMMON Stouyhly bounded by the Appomttox River on the W, the James River on LOCATION the El the confluence of the two rivers on the N, and an irregular line STREET&NVMBEA on the S extknding from the Appomattox to the James fiver E of the intersection of Water and Church streets. -NOT FOR PIJSUCATIOM CITY. TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ' Hoperell - Y~C~NIWOF Fourth (Ibberi H. Daniel) STATE CODE COUNTY CODE Virginia 51 (in city ) 670 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE TDE~TRICT-PUBLIC X-OCCUPIED AGRICULTURE ,MUSEUM -BUILDINGiS) -x PRIVATE -UNOCCUPIED _COMMERCIAL ,PARK ,STRUCTURE +86W -WORK !F1 PROGRESS -EDUCATIONAL KPRIvATE RESIDENCE ,SITE PUBLIC ACQUISlTlOlU ACCESSIBLE ,ENTERTAINMENT ,RELlGlWS -0RJECf ANPROCESS -YES: RESTRICTED ,GOVERNMENT ,SCIENTIFIC -BEING CONSIDERED EYES:uNREsTR,uEn JNDUSTREAL -TRAHSPORfAT1OM ,NO -MILITARY ,OTHER. OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME Mul+inlp~ersa- seer Cqntinuation Sheets 15-25 STREET& NUMBER ..--- -.-/"---.--*-,--,,-- ---..-Ah . CITY. TOWN STATE LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE AEGISTRY OF OEEoS, ETC. Hopewell City Hall STREET E NUMBER - STAT6 - Yirainia 23860 fl REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS T~FE Virginia Historic Landmarks-- Commission Survey DATE 1975, 1978 -FEDERAL %TAT€ _COUNTY ,LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS ~ircjiniaHistoric Landnarks Codssio?.l - 221 Governor Stxeet -,---- +--- .----.- -- - CITY. TOWN STATE Richmond Virqinia 2 3219 -- - -. '--..--.--,-- ", ,--*. , LA.-, ....-- - .- . ...~ . .-. --- . 5 DESCRIPTION I CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE -EXCELLENT -DETERIORATED -UNALTERED EORIGINALSITE -GOOD -RUINS XALTERED -MOVED DATF XFAIR -UNEXPOSED ------ DESCRIBETHE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The City Point Historic District in Hopewell, Virginia, is located at the tip of a small peninsula at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers. The district is defined to the south by an irregular line extending from the intersection of Francis Street and Cedar Lane to a point approximately 75' north of the intersection of Church and Water streets. Portions of this border follow a steep, wooded ravine. This south border marks the division between the historic district and rows of early 20th-century bungalows, evidence of intense land development around 1914-1915. The remainina boundaries are established by the nppomattox River to the north and west and the James River to the east. The district encompasses roughly seven blocks in area (39 acres) and is cut by an irregular grid of minor residential streets. With the exception of lower Pecan Avenue, which still shows large granite spalls dating from 1864, all streets are asphalt paved. The district is sparsely populated and is characterized by low-density building and occasional stretches of vacant land. The area is enhanced by dense trees located east of Water Street and w.est of Cedar Lane, the original private farm road leading to * Appomattox Manor. These trees, the ravine west and south of Pelham Street, and the large open fields of Appomattox Manor north of Pecan Avenue combine to create a greenbelt virtually surrounding the district. Current land use is residential development. With the exception of a neighborhood grocery store, no comercial land use occurs. The minor industrial development located near the southeast boundary between Water Street and the James River breaks from the historic theme currently established within the district. With its location along the river front, this development interrupts scenic river views from residential areas. Most resid&h&i derL'e&&ed. ii'*kl6&&ed, 6iie'''Snd two-&toj, hod-frame, single- family dwellings.... Multiple-family. units are concentrated along Maplewood Avenue and Bank Street and are tw6~HEd4,'briclirow hous'es and apartmenks: The Bank Street apart- ments are located in converted comercial structures. , ',, C' I," '> Though late 18th- and early to mid-20th-century structures are found within the district's boundaries, most buildings date from the 19th century. Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and vernacular buildings mix equally with examples of Colonial and Georgian Revival. Turn-of-the-century builder/speculative housing is noted throughout the historic district with concentrations on Pecan Avenue. Mid-20th-century period revival houses are found along Cedar Lane. Many buildings in City Point display minor exterior alterations including asbestos and aluminum siding additions. Other structures (most notably along Pecan and Maplewood), having been converted from single-family residences to duplexes and apartments, reveal more extensive alterations including the addition of doors and windows to facades, wing additions, and changes to the interior structure. These later alterations detract from the district's historic period appearance. Architecturally significant buildings of City Point include Appomattox Manor (vernacular with Gothic Revival additions, ca. 1750, 18501, St. John's Episcopal Church (Gothic Revival, 1840), Civil War Catholic Chapel (vernacular with Gothic Revival details, 1865), the Cocke House (Greek Revival with Colonial Revival additions, ca. 1840, 19161, (See Continuation Sheet #1) a SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW -PREHISTOHIC ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC -COMMUNIN PLANNING -LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE -RELIGION -1400-1499 -ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC -CONSERVATION -LAW -SCIENCE -1 500-1 599 -AGRICULTURE -ECONOMICS -LITERATURE -SCULPTURE X1600.1699 X~~~~~~~~~~~~ -EDUCATION ?!-MILITARY -SOCIAUHUMANITARIAN 21700-1799 -ART -ENGINEERING -MUSIC -THEATER _Xi ooo- ias9 KCOMMERCE KEXPLORATIONISETTLEMENT-PHILOSOPHY -TRANSPORTATION Sl900- -COMMUN~CATIOIIS ANDUSTRY X-POLITICSIGOVERNMENT-OTHER (SPECIFY) JNVENTION SPECIFIC DATES BUlLDERlARCHlTECT STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE City Point Historic District of Hopewell, Virginia, located at the confluence of the Appumattox and James rivers, is one of America's oldest comnunities. The district is historically significant as the site of an important 18th-century port, as the location of General Grant's military headquarters for ten mnths during the Civil War, and as a war boom town during World War I, In 1607 Captain Christopher Newport ,cmmander of the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, led a small landing party up the Jams River in search of a strategic settlement site. He chose City Point to be England's first permanent settlement in the ' New World. Upon returning to his ships, however, Newport found the colonists, weary from travel and impatient to await the landing party's return, had disembarked at Jamestown 1sland.The City Point settlement was not established for another six years. Historians disagree over the exact siting of the original City Point. The original location my have been one or two miles west of the present town. In spite of the uncertainty concerning the original site, civic leaders and historians continue to boast of City Point as the oldest continuously occupied settlement in America. , , . <. .... ,.., :, ..~. , .. ..., ~~,, Originally named Bermuda Cittae by its founder Sir Thomas Dale, the town was soon re- named Charles City Point for Prince Charleg (laterCharles I, King of England). By the early 18th century, Charles City Point appears in official records as City ~0int.l City Point was incorporated as a town., , inl826,andwas. annexed t3 Hopewell in.1923. , ...,,. ..J . At the tine of the Indian massacre on March 22, 1622, the point had only six dwellings. By the 16309, due to its unique location, City Point had becane the major port of entry for this region. One hundred forty years later, accounts describe City Point as a growing harbor serving both British and foreign ships carrying cargo of tobacco, grain, and lumber. Reflecting City Point's regional importance, in 1797 offices of the U.S. Customs Service were established here. Four years later, in January 1801, the U. S. Post Office opened a branch at City Point. In spite of these surface indications, demoqra~hicstudiesreveal population remained low. By 1836 City Point's population was less than one hundred. In addition to five wharves and a small mill manufacturing flour barrels-, the community was canposed of twent - five dwellings, three taverns, three retail shops, a school, a post office, and a church. 3 Ten years earlier, in an attempt to transform the point into Virginia's "great port of the future", the General Assembly granted permission to lay off fifty acres of land into streets and lots (passed February 17, 1826) .3 An 1827 description of the settlement as a "poor deserted placew4 reveals the project never matured. In 1834 a visitor described City Point as having only a few buildings and a natural wharf. He observed, "I could see neither city nor point".5 His comments, while exaggerated, indicate that the town's efforts to achieve prosperity and growth were less than successful. (See continuation Sheet #12 -. .. -..- ." .. -. .-,,A__- .__-, L --"--.------- . ., .. .-.-..--~.-. ..-. .-- ~MAJORBIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Hagy, Claudia M. Survey of Prince George County. Wytheville, Va. 1924. Koetting, Peter John. A Neighborhood Design Plan - Historic Cit Point Square. June 1976. Lutz, Francis Earle. -fie Prince