Nomination Form
Lightship No. 101, now known as the Portsmouth Lightship, is one of a small number of preserved historic American lightships. Essential partners with lighthouses as aids to navigation, lightships date from 1820 when Lightship No. 1 was commissioned to mark the entrance to the Elizabeth River and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Built in 1916 by Pusey and Jones at Wilmington, Del., Lightship No. 101 was one of a pair of vessels and was originally known as the Cape Charles. It served on at least five stations, guiding vessels into the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and within Nantucket Bay. The ship has undergone only minor modernization and maintains remarkable integrity for a vessel so long in service. Retired in 1964, Lightship No. 101 is now owned and operated as a historic vessel museum by the city of Portsmouth. A conspicuous landmark along the historic waterfront, this relic of navigation is a popular public attraction.
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
