Fort Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia)

Fort Norfolk
Plan of Fort Norfolk in 1860
TypeStar fort
Site information
OwnerU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Open to
the public		Yes
Fort Norfolk
Fort Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia) is located in Virginia
Fort Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia)
Fort Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia) is located in the United States
Fort Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia)
Location803 Front St., Norfolk, Virginia
Coordinates36°51′24″N 76°18′24″W / 36.85667°N 76.30667°W / 36.85667; -76.30667
Area4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built1794 (1794)[2]
NRHP reference No.76002225[1]
VLR No.122-0007
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 29, 1976
Designated VLRDecember 16, 1975[3]
Conditionintact and occupied
Site history
Built1775 (temporary battery)
1794–1795 (earthwork fort)
1807–1809 (masonry fort)
Built byUnited States Army Corps of Engineers
In use1795–present
MaterialsStone, brick, earth
Battles/warsAmerican Revolution
War of 1812
American Civil War
1781 British map showing forts in the Norfolk-Portsmouth area, including one on the site of the later Fort Norfolk
Fort Norfolk in 1853[4]
Battle of Craney Island during the War of 1812[4]: 679 

Fort Norfolk is a historic fort and national historic district located at Norfolk, Virginia. With the original buildings having been built between 1795 and 1809, the fort encloses 11 buildings: main gate, guardhouse, officers' quarters, powder magazine, and carpenter's shop. Fort Norfolk is the last remaining fortification of President George Washington's 18th century harbor defenses, later termed the first system of US fortifications. It has served as the district office for the U.S. Army Engineer District, Norfolk since 1923.[5]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976,[1] and became a Virginia Landmark in 2013.[3] Now it is preserved as a historic fort and is open to the public during the summer.[6]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AFN1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  4. ^ a b Lossing, Benson (1868). The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812. Harper & Brothers, Publishers. p. 668.
  5. ^ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (December 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fort Norfolk" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
  6. ^ Fort Norfolk at U.S. Army Engineer District, Norfolk website