Welcome to Historic Fort Norfolk

Fort Norfolk, three blocks south of here, was one of a series of coastal fortifications authorized by President George Washington in 1794 for the defense of 19 east-coast harbors. The original earth-works structure was refortified with masonry walls in 1808, and many of the brick buildings inside the walls date to 1810. Troops from Fort Norfolk participated in the successful repulsion of British troops at the 1813 Battle of Craney Island during the War of 1812. During the American Civil War, the fort was occupied briefly by Confederate troops before being retaken by the U.S. Army. By the 1880s, the thriving working-class community of Atlantic City shared the waterfront with Fort Norfolk. Major employers included the Norfolk Knitting Mills, several lumber firms, and an oyster business. A toll bridge at York Street and a footbridge at Botetourt Street connected Atlantic City to the city of Norfolk. In the 1870s, there was a racetrack at the end of Fort Norfolk Road, later renamed Colley Avenue after John G. Colley, whose property it bisected. Neighborhood children attended Atlantic City Public Schools #1 and #2, later Patrick Henry and Robert E. Lee schools. Atlantic City was annexed to the City of Norfolk in 1890 as part of the 6th ward, and streetcar service was extended to the neighborhood in 1893. Much of Atlantic City is gone today, razed as part of Project Number Two of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s three-phase redevelopment program, and a comprehensive medical center occupies the site today. Harbor’s Edge upscale retirement community joined the skyline in 2006.

Norfolk, Virginia · United States