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Ghent and West End
(For more Norfolk geography tidbits, click here.)
As the area that became known as Ghent was located just west of Smith’s Creek – which formed the western boundary of the town, borough, and city of Norfolk – the area was long referred to as the “West End.” Indeed, until the early 20th century, Smith’s Creek – also known as Paradise Creek or Puddin Creek – extended so far north as to serve as the entire western boundary (and much of the northern  boundary) of the city.
(True, the term “West End” was also applied to the area in the town/borough/city of Norfolk where fine homes lined such streets as Freemason and York, along the extreme western boundary of Norfolk proper at Smith’s Point, east of the Smith’s Creek boundary. As applied to that area, the term referred to the most elite and desirable part of the city well into the 19th century. But early on, “West End” would also be applied to Ghent – even before the term Ghent was used. And ironically, by the late 19th century, the new and prosperous Ghent section would become, both literally and figuratively, the new “West End.”)
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