Truxtun Historic District

Truxtun is a planned neighborhood of about 250 small houses on forty-three acres in Portsmouth, Virginia. Built between 1918 and 1920 by the U.S. Housing Corporation, it housed workers at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard during World War I and was reserved for Black residents, in line with federal segregation policy of the time. It is described as the first wartime government housing project built exclusively for Black citizens in the country. Project Architect R. E. Mitchell and Town Planner H. P. Kelsey derived every house from a single five-room plan, varied into four exterior types, with jerkinhead roofs as a hallmark. Streets follow a grid with planting strips and staggered setbacks, and a school, church site and shops were set around the main crossroads. Only the school was completed. Most houses have since received new siding, altered porches or additions, yet the roof lines and street plan still convey the original design. Home ownership is high, and many residents have lived there for decades.