{"nrhp_refnum":"05001580","name":"Harrell, Joel E., Son","other_names":["#133-5138"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"110 Virginia Ham Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Suffolk (Independent City)","county":"Suffolk","state":"VA","lat":36.74446473000006,"lon":-76.55831302099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former family-run pork processing complex at 110 Virginia Ham Drive, east of downtown Suffolk, Virginia, beside Shingle Creek. Built from 1941 to a design by the Cincinnati Butcher's Supply Company, it comprises an office building, a main processing building, additions and a repair shop.","why_significant":"The facility is significant under Criterion A as an increasingly rare example of the small family-based pork processing plant once common in Southeastern Virginia. Joel E. Harrell and Son produced the well-known \"Ye Old Virginny Ham\". The plant shows the efficient, sanitary, industrialized slaughterhouse layout that became standard by the mid-twentieth century.","narrative":"Brick and concrete buildings beside Shingle Creek, east of downtown Suffolk, Virginia, once housed the Joel E. Harrell and Son pork processing plant, maker of \"Ye Old Virginny Ham\". Designed by the Cincinnati Butcher's Supply Company in 1940 and 1941, the one-story complex was laid out for an efficient sequence from hog pens through slaughtering, curing and cooling to packing and shipping. Floors sloped to drains, walls were glazed tile or plaster, and steel windows and a roof monitor provided light and air. Additions followed in 1946 for smokehouse space, in 1955 for coolers and shipping, and in the 1970s. The hog pens are gone, but the office, main building and a repair shop survive. Fire in July 2005 damaged the eastern part of the main building during rehabilitation. The plant is recognized as a rare surviving example of the small family slaughterhouses that shaped Southeastern Virginia's ham industry, with a period of significance of 1941 to 1955.","period_of_significance":"1941-1955","architect_builder":"Cincinnati Butcher's Supply Company","architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Rehabilitation was in progress. A fire in July 2005 destroyed the roof and part of the east wall of the main building; the office, 1946 and 1955 additions and repair shop were not damaged.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.400155-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/6838/41683857/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/05001580.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001580/e753627ec2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001580/e753627ec2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joel_E._Harrell_and_Son_office_building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joel_E._Harrell_and_Son_office_building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683857","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_E._Harrell_and_Son","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16892121"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/suffolk/harrell-joel-e-son-05001580/"}