{"nrhp_refnum":"09000690","name":"American Cigar Company","other_names":["Vdhr# 122-0658"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1148 E. Princess Anne Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norfolk","county":"Norfolk","state":"VA","lat":36.85588531900004,"lon":-76.27054714399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-09-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A c. 1903 tobacco stemmery complex at 1148 E. Princess Anne Road in Norfolk, Virginia, made up of a four-story brick stemmery and a two-story brick boiler building. It was built for the American Cigar Company, a subsidiary of the American Tobacco Company.","why_significant":"The facility was a large tobacco-processing plant that helped establish Norfolk in tobacco production. It employed mostly African American women and was the site of a failed 1917 Women Wage Earner's Association strike. It also shows typical turn-of-the-century mill construction and Victorian industrial design.","narrative":"Built around 1903 beside a railroad spur in Norfolk, this four-story brick stemmery and its small two-story boiler building are what remain of a larger complex operated by the American Cigar Company, a subsidiary of the American Tobacco Company. Stemmeries removed the stem from the tobacco leaf before it was made into cigars. The main building uses mill construction, with a wood interior frame, five-course American bond brick walls, limestone sills, a corbelled cornice and brick quoins. The site was chosen for rail access and for its nearby African American neighborhood, which supplied inexpensive labor. African American women made up most of the workforce. In 1917 about 600 women organized by the Norfolk branch of the Women Wage Earner's Association demanded better pay and conditions, and the stemmery workers struck. The strike failed, but it is regarded as groundwork for later organizing. Architect Albert F. Huntt likely designed the stemmery. The property is significant for industry, social history and architecture from 1903 to 1917.","period_of_significance":"1903-1917","architect_builder":"likely Albert F. Huntt","architectural_style":"Early 20th-century American Movement - Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Two buildings remain of the original complex. Many windows are covered with louvered and corrugated metal, and the roof is badly damaged. A developer is interested in rehabilitating the buildings.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.12653-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/6821/41682167/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09000690.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000690/7d90162a08-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000690/7d90162a08-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cathy1763","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Cigar_Company.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cathy1763</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Cigar_Company.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682167","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Cigar_Company_(Norfolk,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16159872"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/norfolk/american-cigar-company-09000690/"}