Whaleyville is a neighborhood of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was formerly an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United Kingdom United States An in ...

located in southern

Nansemond County, Virginia Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia (after statehood) in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. From ...

. Whaleyville is located midway between the former

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

at downtown Suffolk and the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

border along

U.S. Route 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville ...

. Whaleyville is part of the region popularly known as

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. The community is represented on Suffolk City Council by Council Member Curtis R. Milteer, Sr. The

Great Dismal Swamp The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia inde ...

is located a few miles east of Whaleyville.

Etymology

Whaleyville was named for another town of the same name,

Whaleyville, Maryland Whaleyville is a census-designated place in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 149 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area, Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan S ...

, located on the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia ...

north of Virginia's Eastern Shore. There, Seth Mitchell Whaley (1821–1901) was born and grew up. He was active in the

lumber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

business in Maryland.

History

In 1877, Seth M. Whaley bought a farm in the southern portion of

and opened a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

nearby. He worked in cooperation with Jackson Brothers Lumber Company, which was established in the new village of Whaleyville, Virginia. Soon what became called the "Big Mill" was operating 24 hours a day. Between 1885 and 1902, the Suffolk and Carolina Railway, a

narrow gauge railroad A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...

was built from Suffolk through Whaleyville south to

Edenton, North Carolina Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...

. A branch line extended from Beckford Junction (on the Suffolk-Edenton section) to

Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It ...

. Renamed the Virginia and Carolina Coast Railroad in 1906, it became part of the regional

Norfolk and Southern Railway Norfolk () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern bounda ...

, a predecessor of the modern

Norfolk Southern Corporation The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

. Ports on the railroad at Suffolk at Nansemond Wharf on the

Nansemond River The Nansemond River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in Virginia in the United States. Virginian colonists named the river ...

and Elizabeth City on the

Pasquotank River The Pasquotank River
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Norfolk and Carolina Railroad was also built nearby in 1884 to connect what became the north-south main line of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

with the towns and cities of Suffolk,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. At the new mill town of Whaleyville, new stores were built. In 1907, the Bank of Whaleyville opened. A high school was added in 1915. The Lumber Mill at Whaleyville closed in 1919, and moved to

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

. Many residents also made the move. Lumber continued to be harvested locally, but the area became more dependent upon agricultural activities. However, despite losings it biggest employers, the community preserved. According to a local source, "In 1928. Whaleyville had 500-600 residents, a cotton gin, peanut storage warehouses, two churches, and one of the best consolidated schools in Nansemond County." Whaleyville was long located in Nansemond County. Records indicate it was formally incorporated by the General Assembly as a town between 1950 and 1973. Nansemond County was one of a number of localities in southeastern Virginia which underwent change in their political structure between 1952 and 1967, resulting in the current large independent cities where counties and smaller cities and towns had largely been in the past. In 1972, Whaleyville merged with Nansemond County and that county's other incorporated town,

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, to form the independent city of

Nansemond The Nansemond are the indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Nansemond people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where they fished (with the name "Nansemond" meanin ...

. Only two years later, Nansemond merged with the former seat of Nansemond County,

, to form the present-day city of Suffolk. Although Whaleyville is now politically located within a modern city, it is still surrounded substantially by a farms and woodland. Local Whaleyville residents strive to maintain a small town setting as one of the widely diverse types of communities in Suffolk, which at , is the largest geographically in Virginia.

Transportation

During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the

(N&S) abandoned its line through Whaleyville, and sold its local tracks and facilities near the port in Suffolk to the

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

. In 1967, the

(ACL) merged with the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

, (SAL) forming the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

(SCL). Both had served Suffolk. Among many parallel tracks considered redundant by the new SCL, the ACL trackage near Whaleyville was also abandoned. The predecessor agency of the

Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown ...

was created in 1906. Road building began in 1909. In 1932, the secondary roads in Nansemond County were added to the state system under the

Byrd Road Act The Byrd Road Act was an Act of Assembly passed in February 1932 by the Virginia General Assembly. Named for former Governor Harry F. Byrd, the legislation was originally presented as measure to relieve the financial pressures of the Great Depressi ...

. After bearing such State Highway numbers as 506, 53, and 37, the main highway through Whaleyville was designated

. On July 1, 2006, the City of Suffolk assumed control of its roads including those in the Whaleyville area from the Virginia Department of Transportation. As part of the

2026 Comprehensive Plan, the city plans to bypass Whaleyville.

US 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. ...

(along with NC Highway 11) is a strategic highway corridor in North Carolina towards Greenville.

Historical sites

* Seth M. Whaley's home is still standing on Whaleyville Boulevard. The home is now occupied by private owners. * Whaleyville United Methodist Church was founded in 1884 for the mill workers and the people of the area. The church is still in use and two stained glass windows bear benefactor S.M. Whaley's name. * The bank building erected in 1907 by T.O. Knight is still standing. In its 100th year, members of the Whaleyville Historical Society are working with the City of Suffolk, which owns the building, to possible open a Whaleyville Museum there. The bank building is currently housing a restaurant.Old bank in Whaleyville could be rich in history , HamptonRoads.com , PilotOnline.com
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References

{{Suffolk, Virginia Boroughs of Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk, Virginia communities Former municipalities in Virginia Populated places disestablished in 1972

Etymology

History

Transportation

Historical sites

See also

References