Jamestown Exposition facts for kids
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Jamestown Exposition Site Buildings
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Exposition Seal
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 Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | Bounded by Bacon, Powhatan, Farragut, Gilbert, Bainbridge, and the harbor, Norfolk, Virginia |
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| Area | 130 acres (53 ha) |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 75002114 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 20, 1975 |
The Jamestown Exposition was a huge fair held in the United States in 1907. It celebrated a very important birthday: the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States.
The exposition took place from April 26 to December 1, 1907. It was held at Sewell's Point in Norfolk, Virginia. Many years later, in 1975, the 20 buildings that were left from the fair became part of the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are protected because of their historical importance.
Contents
Choosing the Location
As the 300th anniversary of Jamestown's founding got closer, leaders in Norfolk, Virginia wanted to host the big celebration. In 1900, a group called the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities suggested a celebration. They wanted to honor the first English colony in the New World.
Most people thought the original Jamestown site was not a good choice. It was far away and had been abandoned for a long time. There were no places nearby to handle large crowds. Also, people believed the old fort had been washed away by the James River. No train lines went to Jamestown either. Many thought Richmond, the state capital, would be chosen.
However, a newspaper in Norfolk, the Dispatch, pushed hard for Norfolk. Its editor, James M. Thomson, wrote that Norfolk was the "proper place" for the celebration. He said Norfolk was the center of Virginia's most populated area.
By 1901, the Norfolk City Council supported the idea. In 1902, the Jamestown Exposition Co. was formed. Fitzhugh Lee, a popular former governor of Virginia, became its president.
The company decided to put the fair at Sewell's Point. This spot was about the same distance from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Hampton. It was hard to reach by land, but easy to get to by water. This turned out to be a big advantage.
Getting Ready at Sewell's Point
Because Sewell's Point was a bit isolated, getting it ready was tough. New roads had to be built to the site. Two streetcar lines needed to be extended a long way. A new train line, the Tidewater Railway, was rushed into service. Another local train company, the Norfolk Southern Railway, also added more passenger trains.
New docks were built on the shore to bring in supplies. Many hotels were needed for the millions of visitors expected. Bad weather also slowed down construction.
A sad event happened in 1905 when Fitzhugh Lee, the president of the company, died. Henry St. George Tucker, a former politician, took over. But a local businessman named David Lowenberg really ran most of the daily operations.
The Grand Opening
The Exposition opened on April 26, 1907. This was exactly 300 years after Admiral Christopher Newport and his English colonists first landed in Virginia. They landed near Cape Henry, giving thanks and planting a cross. Later, they found Hampton Roads harbor and sailed up the James River to settle at Jamestown.
Opening day had some problems. Only a few of the electric lights worked. The "Warpath" recreation area was not ready. The ground in the middle of the fair was muddy from construction. Out of 38 main buildings planned, only 14 were finished on opening day. Two buildings were never completed at all.
President Theodore Roosevelt came to open the exposition and watch a big naval parade. After the first day, fewer people came than expected. The fair was supposed to attract huge crowds, but it only got about 13,000 visitors daily. This meant the company had trouble paying back a big loan from the government.
But things did get better! Parts of the fair became amazing.
State Buildings and Special Days
Fair planners asked each state to build a house at the Exposition. Some of these buildings showed off the state's history and industries. Others were like special meeting places for visitors from that state. Not all states participated, but 21 states built houses. These included the Pennsylvania House, Virginia House, and New Hampshire House.
During the fair, special days were set aside to honor individual states. The governor of each state usually visited their state's house on these days. On June 10, 1907, which was "Georgia Day," President Theodore Roosevelt returned. He gave a speech on the steps of the Georgia Building, which looked like his mother's childhood home.
Exciting Attractions
The fair covered 340 acres (about 1.4 square kilometers). It had many cool things to see:
- A huge model of the Panama Canal, measuring 122 by 60 feet (37 by 18 meters).
- A wild animal show.
- A Wild West show.
- A re-creation of the San Francisco earthquake that had happened just a year before.
Perhaps the most popular attraction was a re-creation of the Battle of Hampton Roads. This was the first battle between two ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. This famous Civil War battle happened near Sewell's Point 40 years earlier. The building for this exhibit looked like a battleship. Inside, a large circular display showed the battle.
Train companies also had impressive displays. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) showed off its entire F.F.V. passenger train. The New York Central (NYC) displayed an electric engine. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) brought a 23-foot (7-meter) wide section of its new East River Tunnel. This same section was later used underwater to connect to the new Penn Station in New York City.
Other new technologies were on display, too. These included the latest cars, motorboats, and electric and steam engines. The exposition also had a large display of military equipment. Warships from many countries, including 16 battleships from the United States, took part in a naval review.
The "Negro Building"
A special part of the exposition was the "Negro Building." It was designed by W. Sydney Pittman. This building showed the progress of African Americans. Some people, like W. E. B. Du Bois, criticized it. They felt it was a "Jim Crow affair," meaning it kept black people separate.
However, other African Americans saw the Negro Building as a great achievement. The organizer, Giles B. Jackson, believed a separate hall allowed for a more complete display. He thought it could better highlight the achievements of African Americans. He said it showed black people's "capacity as a producer." Many middle-class Southern black visitors felt the building was a big success. It was beautiful, designed and built by black people, with money raised by black people.
The building also featured the first artwork by an African American funded by the government. This was a series of dioramas by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller. Exhibits from black schools and colleges were also shown. Even though the Exposition lost money overall, the Negro Hall was widely praised. It was the only exhibit President Roosevelt visited on both of his trips. A bank branch in the Negro Hall, linked to a local African-American bank, even made a profit!
Famous Visitors and Military Presence
Mark Twain and Henry H. Rogers also visited the fair. They arrived on Rogers' yacht, the Kanawha. On opening day, a huge international fleet of 51 ships was on display in the bay. This included 16 battleships, 5 cruisers, and 6 destroyers. After the fair closed, this fleet became President Theodore Roosevelt's famous Great White Fleet. It sailed around the world to show off America's military power.
The exposition also had a campground for 5,000 troops. Soldiers and military personnel in uniform could enter for a special low price. They were allowed to come and go if they camped there and drilled regularly. The organizers thought the troops added to the entertainment and made the fair more exciting.
To celebrate the 300th anniversary, the U.S. Post Office released three special commemorative stamps. One stamp showed Captain John Smith. Another showed Captain Smith and the colonists landing. The third stamp featured Pocahontas.
What Happened After
The Exposition closed on December 1, 1907. It lost a lot of money, several million dollars. Only 3 million people attended, which was much less than the organizers hoped for.
However, the fair had other important benefits for the United States and for Norfolk. Many important politicians, including members of Congress, visited the fair. This helped them see how important Sewell's Point was. This area had been important in the Civil War, but had been mostly forgotten.
Naval leaders in Norfolk pushed for the exposition site to become a Naval Base. They wanted to use all the new buildings and docks that had been built for the fair.
Almost 10 years later, this idea became real. World War I helped speed things up. The new Naval Base used the improvements from the Exposition. Its location at Sewell's Point on Hampton Roads was perfect. There was also a lot of empty land nearby. The Virginian Railway had built coal piers and storage yards right next to the Exposition site. This railway could bring coal directly from West Virginia, which the Navy needed for its steam-powered ships.
On June 28, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson set aside money to buy land and build for what would become the Navy Base. Out of the 474 acres first bought, 367 acres were the old Jamestown Exposition grounds. The military property grew even larger later on. Today, the base covers over 4,000 acres (16 square kilometers).
Some of the exposition buildings are still used by the Navy today! They are mainly used as homes for admirals at Naval Station Norfolk. Thirteen of the state houses can still be seen on Dillingham Boulevard at the Naval Station. This area is sometimes called "Admiral's Row." The Pennsylvania House, for example, was an Officer's Club and later a museum.
Other state buildings still on their original sites include the Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia Houses. The Baker's Chocolate Company House also remains. Some other state buildings were moved in 1934, like the Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Michigan, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont buildings. The Illinois Building was moved next to the North Dakota Building. There's even a copy of the North Carolina building in Dunn, North Carolina.
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