Nomination Form
This fanciful Queen Anne-style residence was the home of Joseph Thomas Newsome and his family. Newsome (1869-1942), was one of the city of Newport News’s most respected African American civic leaders. A graduate of Howard University Law School, Newsome became one of the first black lawyers to practice before the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. An effective advocate of civil rights, Newsome is also remembered for his many and varied community efforts. He organized the Colored Voters League of Warwick County, and was editor (1926-40) of the Newport News Star, the city’s black newspaper. At the time of his death, Newsome was commissioner of chancery and a member of the Newport News Citizens Defense Policy Committee. Newsome purchased this Oak Avenue residence in 1906. The J. Thomas Newsome House is now owned by the city of Newport News and operated as the Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
