List of street namesakes

From Cvillepedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The following is a list of streets in City of Charlottesville and where there names are derived from.

Many of the names of these streets can be found on historic maps of Charlottesville.

Guide to streets

The system of numbering the streets is somewhat similar to the Washington plan. Each block represents 100 numbers, whether heading east, west, north or south. The city is divided into four sections.[1]

Fifth – South of 500 W Main Street
First – North of East Main and East of North First, or Northeast
Second – South of East Main and east of South First, or Southeast
Third – North of West Main and west of North First, or Northwest
Fourth – South from 402 West Main
Sixth-and-a-Half – South from 606 Dice
Seventh-and-a-Half – South from 620 Dice
Main – The dividing line between north and south streets, runs east from First to C & O Lower Depot and west from First to University. The main Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Station, being located under the present day Belmont Bridge.
First – The dividing line between east and west streets, runs north and south from Main to city limits.

From the book The Code of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia (1909) "General Ordinances" chapter:Charlottesville (Va.), et al. The Code of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia: Containing the Charter As Amended and Re-enacted As a Whole (approved March 14, 1908), the Constitutional and Legislative Provisions of the State Relating to Cities, and the General Ordinances of the City Enacted As a Whole August 6th, 1909, In Effect September 1st, 1909. Michie Co, 1909.

Sec. 148. Numbering and naming streets.
Main Street shall be the east and west line from which all houses and lot numbers shall be counted, those to the north of Main Street, as north, and those to the south of Main Street, as south.
All streets maintaining comparative parallelism with Main Street shall retain their present names. The meridian street shall be Thirty-Third or Green Street, but shall be known as North First or South First Street, as indicated by its position north or south of Main Street.
What is known as Thirty-Second or Church Street north of Main Street shall be known as North Second Street East, its continuation south of Main Street, as South Second Street East. What is now known as Thirty-Fourth Street, shall be known as North Second Street West or South Second Street West, as the case may be.
Whether one goes east or west, the streets running so as to intersect Main, actually or by supposed extension shall be known by the natural numbers increasing in either direction from the meridian at First Street, save in the matter of Park and Ridge Streets.

(A)

Alderman Road: Edwin Anderson Alderman, ca. 1906
  • Allen Drive – unknown
  • Allied Lane – possibly Allied Concrete, founded in 1946 and now located near the street
  • Allied Street – possibly Allied Concrete, founded in 1946 and now located near the street
  • Almere Avenue – unknown
  • Altamont Circle – toponym meaning "high mountain"
  • Altamont Street – toponym meaning "high mountain"
  • Altavista Avenue – toponym meaning "high viewpoint"
  • Amherst CommonsAmherst County, Virginia
  • Amherst StreetAmherst County, Virginia
  • Amstel Avenue – unknown
  • Anderson Street – unknown
  • Angus Road – unknown
  • Antoinette Avenue – unknown
  • Antoinette Court – unknown
  • Apple Tree Road – botanical name
  • Arbor Circle – botanical name
  • Arlington Boulevard – Arlington National Cemetery (a U.S. military cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.) built on the slave labor-based plantation land that once belonged to George Washington Parke Custis. Custis was the grandson of Martha Washington and the step-grandson of President George Washington. The site was once the home of Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee. Congress and President Calvin Coolidge designated Arlington House as a national memorial to Robert E. Lee in 1925 to honor his role in promoting peace and reunion after the Civil War. [2]
  • Ashby Place – unknown
  • Augusta StreetAugusta County, Virginia which was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales and mother of the future King George III of the United Kingdom.
  • Avon Street - the River Avon in England, in reference to the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, by Bartlett Bolling, the developer of the Belmont subdivision
  • Azalea DriveAzalea Hall [3] or the city's Azalea Park consists of 23 acres of level land located off Old Lynchburg Road at the southern edge of the city near Interstate 64. Azaleas and rhododendrons were once so infamous for their toxicity that to receive a bouquet of their flowers in a black vase was a well-known death threat.[4]

(B)

In 1919, Stewart Fuller lived on Booker Street with his parents, Stewart & Alberta Douglas Fuller.
Robert Nicholas Burgess (1839 – 1911) born in Albemarle County, served in the Confederate States army from 1861 to 1865 in Company I, Forty-Sixth Virginia Regiment. He began farming immediately upon his return from the army and continued as a farmer and overseer in Albemarle County until April 1881, when he moved to Charlottesville and accepted a position as policeman;
John Anderson Burgess (1873-1948), moved to Charlottesville in 1898. 1890 opened general contractor business at 401-403 E Market Street; employed 20 painters, paper hangers, carpenters (residence listed as Woolen Mills Road, ca. 1914)

(C)

Chancellor Street: Chancellor's Drug Store at The Corner
  • Chancellor Street – Chancellor family; Doctor J. Edgar Chancellor, served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and was later "Demonstrator of Anatomy" in the University of Virginia for a number of years and lived in the Birdwood Estate. His son, Samuel Chancellor, owner and operator of Chancellor’s Drug Store (1415 University Avenue). Sam was one of the first businesses on The Corner to adopt Coca-Cola products and sell them in mass quantities.[9]; Originally Staunton Avenue, named for the destination city of Staunton, Virginia.
  • Charlton Avenue – Originally (ca. 1916) Carlton Avenue until the city changed the spelling by adding an "h" to disambiguate from the east side Carlton Avenue.
  • Chelsea Drive – unknown
  • Cherry Avenue – botanical name, parallel to Elm and Pine Streets
  • Cherry Street – botanical name, in a cluster of tree-themed streets off of Carlton Ave
  • Chesapeake Street – presumably the bay
  • Chestnut Street – botanical name, in a cluster of tree-themed streets off of Carlton Ave. Between 1904 and 1940, some 3.5 billion American chestnut trees, the giants of the Appalachian hardwood forest, succumbed to a fungal blight called Cryphonectria parasitica.
  • Chisholm Place – unknown
  • Christa Court – unknown
  • Church Street – Named for Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church
  • City Walk Way – adjacent City Walk Apartments
  • Clarke Court – likely the Clark/Clarke family, one of the "First Families of Virginia," from which George Rogers Clark and William Clark are members.
  • Cleveland Avenue – unknown
  • Coleman Court – unknown
  • Coleman Street – unknown
  • Commerce Street (previously named Little Commerce Street (Gray Map, ca. 1877) – unknown
  • Concord Avenue – likely named for the Battle of Concord during the American Revolution; parallel to Yorktown Drive
  • Concord DriveBattle of Concord, an important battle during the American Revolutionary War. Part of a cluster of names pertaining to American history in the Greenbrier neighborhood.
  • Copeley Road – possibly Walter S. Copeland
  • Cottage Lane – one of several streets named for the property surrounding Rugby Hall, formerly owned by Confederate general Thomas L. Rosser. Cottage Lane runs between Rugby Hall (908 Cottage Lane) and two cottages (907 and 909 Cottage Lane) that were owned by Rosser in the late 19th century. For a time the cottages were rented out by the Rossers to help generate income.[10]
  • Cottonwood Road – presumably the tree
Court Square: Albemarle County Court House. Located at the corner of Jefferson and Park St., this photograph actually shows the portion built in 1859-60. The rear, or north wing, dates to 1803. Source: Albemarle Historical Society
  • Court Square – Courthouse House Square, historical term refers to the square in the middle of a town where the county courthouse is located.
Cream Street: Albemarle Creamery Co. located at 709 Brown Street, ca. 1914; J. B. Andrews, pres, H. F. Wilde sec. and mgr.

(D)

Druid Avenue: The March 1909 edition of The Druid, a magazine published by the Ancient Order of Druids.
  • Druid Avenue - referring to the Druids from Celtic culture; parallel to Stonehenge Avenue and Rockland Avenue, all of which lead to the now-abandoned quarry where Quarry Park is now; parallel with Stonehenge Avenue, it is part of a group of themed streets in the Belmont-Carlton neighborhood carrying names associated with the Ancient Order of Druids. Sir Edmund Antrobus, 4th Baronet, owner of Stonehenge (1848-1915). In 1905, he was initiated into the Ancient Order of Druids and welcomed the first massive ceremony of this Order in Stonehenge.
  • Dublin Road - likely Dublin, Ireland
  • Duke Street - likely the Duke family, notably R. T. W. Duke, Sr. and R. T. W. Duke, Jr.
  • Dunova Court - unknown

(E)

  • Earhart Street - Earhart family, notably L. A. Earhart and A. W. Earhart
  • Early Street - Dr. John Emmett Early. Local physician who owned property on either side of the newly created street in 1925. On December 1, 1939, upon petition of Dr. J. E. Early, a resolution was passed by the City Council by which the city takes over the section of Belmont known as Early Street.[13]
  • Edge Hill Road - runs along the top of the top of Edge Hill
  • Edgewood Ln - unknown
  • Elizabeth Avenue - unknown
  • Elkhorn Road - unknown
    Elliewood Avenue: Miss Ellie Wood (possibly taken at University Circle near the The Colonnades)
    Elliewood AvenueEllie Wood Page Keith Baxter, daughter of Eliza Mason Page. Her mother, also a descendant of George Mason, opened a rooming house business in the nearby previous home of Richard Anderson, founder of the Anderson Brothers Bookstore (now the site of Ragged Mountain Running Shop, 3 Elliewood Avenue). Little Ellie Wood thought of the tenants, many UVA students, as big brothers. One afternoon, they stuck a sign onto a telephone pole at the corner of the street that said, “Ellie Wood Avenue.” The sign was eventually taken down, but the name stuck. [14] First street in the city bearing a woman's name.
  • Elliott Avenue - unknown
  • Elm Street - botanical name, parallel to Pine Street and Cherry Avenue. Before Dutch elm disease threatened to wipe out this species in the last century, Ulmus americana was a fixture of urban streetscapes, parks, school grounds and college campuses.[15]
  • Elsom Street - unknown
  • Emmet Street / Emmet Street South - John Patten Emmet (1796–1842), the first professor of natural history at the University; appointed by Thomas Jefferson.
  • Eric Place - unknown
  • Essex Road - possibly Essex, New Jersey, location of numerous events during the American Revolutionary War, as it is in a cluster of names pertaining to American history in the Greenbrier neighborhood.
  • Estes Street - Estes family, notably Captain Triplett T. Estes, who for many years kept the Stone Tavern on the square on which the Lipscomb's livery stable once later stood.
  • Eton Road - likey Eton, England
  • Evergreen Avenue - botanical name for the Deodar Cedars on this street, such as the one on the right, at 638 Evergreen Ave - this one was likely planted in 1930, when the house was built. The other outstanding tree is past a sharp bend to the left at 673 Evergreen with its three strong trunks, one of which reaches over the street to provide shade for passersby. A native of the Himalayas, this graceful evergreen takes its name from the Sanskrit for “timber of the gods.” It is beloved for its pendulous branches and has been a divine element of Western landscapes for some 200 years. The Deodar is a true Cedar, unlike the Eastern Red Cedar so familiar in our area, which is actually a Juniper.[16]

(F)

(G)

(H)

Holiday Drive: (Postcard) Holiday Inn Motel, ca. 1960

(I)

(J)

(K)

(L)

(M)

(N)

(O)

(P)

Pen Park: View of Pen Park Plantation House, ca. 1897. In 1777, Dr. George Gilmer purchased the land and his family owned it until 1800. Originally the estate consisted of four thousand acres; by 1897 all had been sold off save the six hundred acres immediately about the house.

(Q)

(R)

(S)

(T)

(U)

(V)

(W)

Wertland Street: A member of the Wertland family, Colonel Wertenbaker was a Civil War veteran, having served in the 19th Virginia Regiment, son of William Wertenbaker

(Y)

  • Yorktown Drive - possibly named after the Siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. Part of a cluster of named streets pertaining to American history in the Greenbrier neighborhood.

(Z)

Street name changes in Charlottesville

  • Augusta Road - renamed Rosser Lane. Constructed sometime after 1938, it appeared as Augusta Rd on the 1950 Census Enumeration Map of Charlottesville.[30] [31]
OLD STREET NAMES NEW NAMES NEW NAMES after 1828 NEW NAMES after 1877 NEW NAMES circa 1950 Notes
33rd St (Green St) 1st St
Gas House Road 4th St NW
32nd St (Church St) 2nd St E
University Street West Main St
Whites Lane 10th St NW
34th St N 2nd St W
Augusta Rd Rosser Ln
Azalea St Manila St Renamed October 7, 2002[20]
Belmont Ave Dale Ave Rose Hill Subdivision
Carlton Ave Charlton Ave Rose Hill Subdivision
Staunton Ave Chancellor St
Whitehall Rd Preston Ave
Forrest St Forest St
Court St 5th St NE
County Rd 6th St NE
North St (Maiden Ln) High St
Livers Road Hessian Rd
Union St 4th St NE
School St 3rd St NE
Church St 2nd St NE
Green St 1st St NE
Hill St 2nd St NW
Free Bridge Rd E High St

Extinct streets

  • Alphanso Street – ran north from Williams Street to Preston W first east of 10th NW
  • Apple Street – West of 601 Ridge Street
  • Cabell Street – parallel to Lee Street, removed by Pinn Hall at UVA Medical Center
  • Diggs - removed with the development of Garrett Square (now Friendship Court) (Sanborn Maps)
  • Digges - ran from South First, west to Ridge St
  • Fuller Avenue - renamed as part of Monticello Avenue, when Monticello was "redirected" to continue west instead of turning north on what is now Avon Street (Sanborn Maps)
  • Indian Run - ca. 1950; undeveloped street between Spottswood Rd and Pine Top Rd.
  • Johnny Cake Ln - ca. 1950; undeveloped street between Hessian Rd and Spottswood Rd.
  • McKee - North from Jefferson to High, first east of 4th N E
  • Loudoun Road (ca. 1964) – (undeveloped street between Lewis Mountain and Thomson roads)[32]
  • Lyman's Row - ran from C&O depot, east to city limits
  • Lutheran Lane - ran from Dice St south to Oak St
  • Park Place Avenue – perpendicular to Lee Street, removed by Pinn Hall at UVA Medical Center
  • Parrot (Sanborn Maps) - removed with the development of Garrett Square (now Friendship Court)
  • Pearl Street - southeast of the Silk Mills, removed when Lane High School was constructed (Sanborn Maps)
  • Randall Street – parallel to Lee Street, removed by Pinn Hall at UVA Medical Center
  • Williams Street (Sanborn Maps)
  • Vinegar Street (Gray Map, ca. 1877) - removed; now (2022) pedestrian walkway between the Omni Charlottesville Hotel and the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs (C.O.D.E. Building)
  • Wyndhurst Circle and Wyndhurst Way, ca. 1920; precursors to the present-day Preston Place.[33]

References

  1. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x000196692&view=1up&seq=33
  2. Web. Arlington National Cemetery, UPDATED: JANUARY 20, 2021 | ORIGINAL: SEPTEMBER 28, 2017, retrieved August 10, 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Massie, Frank A., and Virginia School Company. A New and Historical Map of Albemarle County, Virginia. Owned and published by the Virginia School Company, 1907. https://search.lib.virginia.edu/sources/maps/items/u2716440
  4. Web. [1]
  5. Web. Albemarle County In Virginia, Rev. Edgar Woods, The Michie Company, Printers, 1901, retrieved May 7, 2019.
  6. Web. The Cabell Family, University of Virginia Special Collections Library, 2018
  7. 7.0 7.1 Web. Featured Letter: An Alcoholic Grandson-in-Law, THOMAS JEFFERSON FOUNDATION, retrieved November 29, 2023.
  8. Web. Thomas Jefferson to Jean Baptiste Say, 2 March 1815, retrieved November 29, 2023.
  9. https://news.virginia.edu/content/do-you-know-history-your-favorite-corner-spots
  10. Sheridan R. Barringer, Custer's Gray Rival, (Burlington, NC, 2019), 249.
  11. Web. Kenneth R. Crispell, 79, Dean And Health Expert on Presidents, New York Times, Aug. 26, 1996, retrieved 2020-10-14.
  12. Web. [2]
  13. Web. Sewer Right of Way, Page 9, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, Tuesday December 2, 1930, retrieved November 21, 2023.
  14. https://uvamagazine.org/articles/the_golden_age_of_the_rooming_house_matrons
  15. Web. A Driving Tour of Charlottesville’s Notable Trees, www.notabletrees.org, 2020, retrieved May 7, 2023.
  16. Web. A Driving Tour of Charlottesville’s Notable Trees, www.notabletrees.org, 2020, retrieved May 7, 2023.
  17. Web. Records of the Albemarle Golf and Tennis Club, The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, April 17, 2023, retrieved April 17, 2023.
  18. Tubbs, Sean. "Supervisors pass resolution in support of naming Meadowcreek Parkway after John Warner." Charlottesville Tomorrow News Center. 8 Jan. 2009. <http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2009/01/board_parkway.html>.
  19. Web. [ ], Early Charlottesville; recollections of James Alexander, 1828-1874. Reprinted from the Jeffersonian republican by the Albemarle County Historical Society.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Web. Agenda for October 7, 2002 Charlottesville City Council, City of Charlottesville, October 7, 2002., retrieved 2022-06-07.
  21. Web. [3]
  22. Web. A Driving Tour of Charlottesville’s Notable Trees, www.notabletrees.org, 2020, retrieved May 7, 2023.
  23. Woods, E. (1901). Albemarle County in Virginia: giving some account of what it was by nature, of what it was made by man, and of some of the men who made it. Charlottesville, Va.: The Michie Company, printers. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Albemarle_County_in_Virginia/oX3hxtr5L24C?hl=en
  24. http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/lewisandclark/students/projects/homesteads/genealogy/meriwethers.html
  25. http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?query=Roslyn&docId=uva-sc%2Fviu03696.xml&chunk.id=
  26. Web. Daily Progress, Tuesday May 16, 1950, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, retrieved March 28, 2023.
  27. Web. Records of the Albemarle Golf and Tennis Club, The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, April 17, 2023, retrieved April 17, 2023.
  28. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/104-0136/
  29. Web. Ridge Street Oral History Project: A Supplement to the Survey of the Ridge Street Historic District and Proposal for Local Designation, Preservation Piedmont for the City of Charlottesville Department of Community Planning, 1995
  30. Web. 1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Virginia (VA) - Charlottesville City - Charlottesville - ED 104-1 to 31, US Census Bureau
  31. https://1950census.archives.gov/search/?county=Charlottesville&page=1&state=VA#
  32. https://v3.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2681176/view#openLayer/uva-lib:2681197/3799.5/4438.5/4/1/0
  33. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/104-0048_Wyndhurst_2018_NR_Summary_Proposed_Relocation.pdf

External Links