Norfolk County Almshouse

During the colonial period, the established church cared for the poor as in Great Britain. Beginning in the late 18th century, local governments began to appoint overseers of the poor instead to support indigents with donated funds or house them in facilities built for the purpose. On 18 Dec. 1854, George A. Wilson donated 175 acres here to the Norfolk County overseers for an almshouse. The county cared for its indigent citizens here from 1855 to 1929, when the facility closed and the residents were moved to the Norfolk City Home. The City of Chesapeake Civic Center now stands on the site.