Information Panel: Casualties of Time

Information Panel: Casualties of Time

NPS / Claire Hassler

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Over two dozen armory workers' dwellings, ranging from modest frame cottages to substantial stone and brick houses, once fronted Shenandoah and Hamilton streets. The wood houses disappeared around mid-century, victims of fire and demolition. The government sold the remaining dwellings in 1852 to armory employees and others in an effort to secure a stable, land-owning workforce.

Buildings along the Shenandoah proved extremely vulnerable to flooding. During the devastating 1870 flood, all houses but one on the south side of Shenandoah Street, "from the market house to the Island of Virginius," were destroyed or severely damaged.

Photo Caption: Flood waters surround buildings on Shenandoah Street in 1924. None of the structures pictured here stand today.

Photo Caption: View of the Shenandoah River and original paymaster's house during the 1924 flood.