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Mahone's Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad
(For more Norfolk geography tidbits, click here.)
The Norfolk and Petersburg RR (1858 to 1870) was an 80-mile railroad connecting the two cities. Chartered in 1851; completed in 1858. Ex-Confederate General William Thomas Mahone, hired in 1853, built the railroad; and by 1861, he was its President. The road came eastward from Petersburg and crossed the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River near Money Point, a  few miles south of Berkley, then came northward, crossing the Eastern Branch 7/8 miles above its mouth. On the Norfolk side the N and P terminal sat upon a strip of land Mahone created – shooting off from the eastern end of Main Street. The strip, created by filling in the mouth of Newton's Creek, effectively closed the creek, creating what became known as Lake Mahone. The Creek, however, was not completely closed, as Mahone left a small strip – known as Mahone's Canal – along the eastern side. The strip of land on which the terminal sat was an extension of the eastern end of Main Street. Parallel to Main Street was Water Street, along which N and P tracks were also laid, allowing for easy transferring of goods from freight cars to the wharves all the way to Town Point. (The Water Street track remained as late as 1961, according to Wertenbaker, Norfolk: Historic Southern Port, p.183.) A July 1856 plat of Bramble’s Point, the area east of Newton’s Creek purchased by the Norfolk and Petersburg for its Norfolk terminal, is found in Norfolk County Deed Book 83, p.568.
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