The members of the City Council of Staunton, Virginia voted against the suspension over the Christmas holiday of an ordinance that forbad the use of pop-crackers in the streets. Christmas was to be celebrated in a joyful, yet quiet manner, not with the use of small explosives, which are noisy and might interfere with private celebrations. On the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of December, a serenade...
Few citizens of Portsmouth could escape the mourning of K G Gittio's death. On February 25, 1885 it covered the front page news, flags flew at half-mast, locomotives were shrouded, and traffic stopped, while people flooded to his funeral. The city had lost a respected citizen and a leading businessman, regarded as one of the South's best railroad men. Gittio, thinking he had a cold, had called upon...
The Charleston Directory and Strangers Guide offered a listing of the residents and businesses of Charleston (name, address, job title if one exists), street names, and wharfs. This was what would today be known as a yellow and white pages combined. This document revealed much about the population with little more than the names of its populace. Their addresses were indicative of the culture on streets...
The Newbern Spectator published several articles about the new temperance movements starting up in New York, in Ireland, and in the Newbern area. It was a crusade for self-improvement and the industrial work ethic. One man from nearby Washington, N.C., only identified as 'A Free Drinker,' felt he had to speak up. In a letter to the editor, the writer reminded the reading public that there were two...
The Savannah Press announced on November 16, 1897 that they deeply regretted the actions of the general assembly of Georgia. The general assembly failed to pass a law that would prohibit anyone under the age of 13 from working in cotton factories. The Savannah Press was disturbed by the actions taken by the legislators in Georgia. The general assembly's actions showed that the need for production outweighed...
The advertisements started early in the year for the South Carolina Jockey Club's Annual Horse Race. News of the event was spread to New York and Virginia, as this was known to be one of the biggest social events of the season. The races lasted for several days, ending in a ball that topped all social events of the season and culminated in the election of the new slate of officers. The Charleston Mercury...
Play Ball the Norfolk crowd shouted on a mid-July afternoon, despite the rain that would eventually force the Norfolks and the Baltimore Monumentals from the baseball field. Although the fans left disappointed, they would return the following day to see the two teams square off, and this time they got their money's worth. The Norfolk Landmark would call the July 26 game one of the finest ever played...
Three vessels arrived in the Wilmington port with cargoes of railroad iron for the Wilmington & Weldon R.R. Co. to build the line from Wilson to Fayetteville, known as the Short-cut. Track had already been laid from Contentnea Creek to Smithfield in Johnston County and the work of laying the iron resumed with the cargo in port. They built iron bridges across Cape Fear and the Neusse River. At the Fayetteville...
In the city of Norfolk on July 21, 1891, Dr. Morgan Health officer of Norfolk County, examined the dairies and livestock in the city. The Norfolk Virginian reported on the results and also wrote about other issues the Board of Health addressed. According to the newspaper, he examined 475 animals with an output of 768 gallons. Dr. Morgan's examination yielded results of 15 dairies in good condition...
On an ordinary day in Rogersville the Southern Railway train, run by Conductor Shell, pulled into the station to unload its cargo of flour and take on the next load of lumber. Lewis Boyd, a black man, hopped up into the car to help unload the flour. As he removed the sacks of flour from the car, he happened to throw some of them to the ground. Conductor Shell reprimanded Boyd for his carelessness and...