The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-30
.CITY0fSUFFOLKON |
THE NANSEMOND1
Aged 7 I oiw n Bee m es
City In Name as 1t
Was in Fact.
RAIL RO AID CENTRE
DEEP +, w a TER TOO
Six Trunk Lines Make Freight
Rates Low, and Wholesale
Trade and Manufacturing
Enterprises Grow Biggest
Peanut Market in World.
Banking Advantages.
BY FRANK $. wOODsON,s
Industrial Editor.

g. 49, ~ * N
BY FRANK s. wOODsON,
Industrial Editor.
Suffolk. Va, October 29.--when last ]
! wrote. for tho Industrial Section un-
der the above date line had to talk
about the town of Suffolk. Now I
am writing from the city OF Suffolk
The town is dead. by law. and the
city stands In glory upon the old site.
as far as the old ste was big enough
to hold It. For the past "a ecade, espe.
cially In the past three to five years,
the old town had been growing SO fast
that. speaking from the point Of pop1l-
lation. industrial enterprises, hand,
some homes. good churches, good
schools, business enlargement, and, i,
fact. all OF the things that go to make s
a town or city great, the limits q,
the new city extend far. beyond me
!rnetes and bounds OF the old town and
far ahead of the widest drea ms OF the
sold-ttme citizens of the town, And
they had some pretty extensive dreams.
too. for. as far back as the Colonial
times when Suffolk was but village.
the people knew. pr believed, that its
geographical position, its location In
the finest kind OF a farming section.
Its nearness to forests OF lumber. It's
deep water advantages, It's healthful
location and many other ADVANTAGES.
all conspired to make 1t at some time
IN the future great town or city, as
the case might be.
Ancient History.
do not know Just when Suffolk
became town. but suppose 1t was
when Nansemond county was first
Formed by the cutting off OF Big
slice of Isle of Wight county, and the
folks of the newly formed county
named their county seat Suffolk, after
me old English estate: and, ac-
cording to Virginia history. that hap
pened away back yonder IN sixteen
hundred and something. After this
country Won its Independence the Z
county seat Of Nansemond became
cutie a little town and a ding point
of no mean pretensions. It grew as
Z towns used to grow in those days; that
Is TO say. the days from the Reyoln-
/ ttonar period up to the close OF the
War Between the States. and after the
lat ter period It became a very impor-
:tant town. the oyster and fish Industry
and the farming interest In the rich
country surrounding II. and the lum
Der I'M erest. all combining to make It
attractive to business men and IN
vestors. Then the railroads hunting
| deep-water terminals got to coming
along, and the last one OF them that
ran on the south side of James River
had to come through Suffolk, and there
OF the town got IN its best ticks. 8
~ ~ VI The City Was horn.
Well. a town right in 4the finest OF
( the shne agricultural sections OF Vir-g
sinla with the best OF timbers right
q Its d oorsF and With deep water-deep
enough to float big ships and steam
s g rs and that could. by its especially.
state dictate terms to six trunk lines
o. AratlWay---just h ad to become city.
and Suffolk would have done that, law
or n Q y aW. ass a matter of fact, Suf-8
folk people didGnotswant their good old
town to- be called a city. as they pres
ferred to- remain a part OF; Nansemond
county, but there Is a law on the
Virginia town gets by the 5. 1000 EmarlS
as to population 1t must be a city. This
town ran by that mark two years and
more ago. but the folks preferred TO
go slow, and It was onlygon the first
day OF. this m on tn that the town OF
Suffolk was formally and legally e.
S3clared to be Virginia's twentieth city.
!, the reputation having been found to-
i In the neigh rhood of 4. 0OSwithfn
the contracted corporate limits and
something. like 5000 lust beyond tho
| marrow limits, these latter being to-
sall intents and 9nlIrpos IS citizens OF 4
the city. And $50 y happens that tho
,.oity{was born on October 1 & $40. And
when we come to consider the Splendid !
wa ter works. the gas and electric light
and power works. he magnificent
sewer system, the miles OF paved
streets and sidewalks, the splendid
public schools. the public buildings
Z and the vast banking and business and
Industrial interests the. town turned
! over to, the city, 1t can be truthfully
said that Suffolk was a splendid little
city In fact constderab BILE while be-5
fore the Virginia laws made 1t one in
name.
The City OF Suffolk. 81 ss
And now. leaving the defunct town
to- the grave In which 1t was forced by
law want to talk lust a little hit
about the city If SUFFOLK The igures 4
Nof the United States census takers
who performed here last spring have
mot Vet come ont, but IN August last
that same Virginia LAM ich. trans n
forms a town int to q city. It was care
fully take n and is doubtless nearer the
accurate Il gureg than vii be the United
States census, Which Is vet to- be heard
from. This local census gives the
population within the actual city
limits at 6.7aS, and the po pul Ia ton 9 &
8ticallYswithin the u tN.5 as 2. . 81. his
#outlying section is AZ much q par 81 a
suffolk as Is Washington Square, In
the heart OF the city for every person
in 1t, does business In the city or gets
his or her living GU .ssof I, ~ We Az &
know that An Virginia 4 ere wa s ~ tins 4
when the snegro cues ton so con fronted
JUS that An the layins out of towns and ~
cities a lot of s,'gerrynandering llad
4 to be done to keep the colored vote
8.out of town Sc s q to spea X Sui folk \
was no eXceptio II % the ~ lea thu
lines we're stra oh ten cd. as 4 hey dosi
less will be In due time, nov that
There is no longer " sene gam bian in
Z the litical wood pil e. The mi tys q SUI
|tion OF 1906. and that shaw 81 nm n IN