Fort Nelson Chapter
Portsmouth, Virginia
NSDAR
History of Our Chapter House
The Fort Nelson Chapter NSDAR House is an architect-designed one-and-one-half story building exhibiting characteristics of a colonial Tidewater house. Constructed in 1935, the building features a symmetrical façade with a central entrance sheltered by a classical overhang supported by scrolled brackets. The building is wood frame clad in weatherboard resting on a brick foundation. The roof is side-gable clad in composite shingles with symmetrically-placed gabled dormers situated on each pitch of the roof. An exterior brick chimney is located on the north elevation. The interior of the building yields a large meeting space occupying more than half of the building’s main story at the north end. There is a fireplace on the north wall with a classically-inspired mantel. At the south end of the interior there is a kitchen and dining area. The building’s construction period was between September and December of 1935, with a formal dedication on December 3, 1935. It was added to the State's Historic Landmark Register on May 6, 2007, and to the National Register for Historic Properties on August 8, 2007.
The announcement of the construction of the Chapter House and presentation of the deed to the trustees of the Fort Nelson Chapter NSDAR was made on September 3, 1935, during the meeting at the home of Mrs. Jerome P. Carr, Regent of the chapter. The lot on which the building is situated was subdivided from a larger lot the Carrs acquired in 1911. The trustees were men who were husbands of the members of the Fort Nelson Chapter NSDAR. According to the deed, the property was deeded pursuant to conditions established by the Carrs. Restrictions included no dancing permitted and the property could not be used to secure any debt for the first twenty-five years of the chapter’s ownership of the property. Mr. Jerome Carr, who was a member of the SAR, donated the house and lot in honor of his wife, and also donated some furnishings for the house. At the October 1935 Virginia DAR State Board Meeting, the State Historian announced that the Fort Nelson Chapter NSDAR had received a gift of a Chapter House. It is also noted at this meeting that it was the first in the state.
The Fort Nelson Chapter NSDAR House is situated within the Westhaven neighborhood in the city of Portsmouth. The neighborhood is characterized by early 20th-century domestic buildings of the Craftsman and Colonial Revival styles. The house is located at 506 Westmoreland Avenue on the northwest corner of the intersection of Westmoreland Avenue and King Street near the west boundary of the neighborhood near the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River.
Photo courtesy Fort Nelson Chapter NSDAR member