Bill Text: VA SJR195 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Hilton Village.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-07 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ195ER) [SJR195 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-SJR195-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Hilton Village, a planned community in Newport News that was the nation's first federal war housing project, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2018; and
WHEREAS, Hilton Village traces its roots to World War I, when an influx of shipbuilders and other wartime workers sparked a severe housing shortage in Newport News; in response, Newport News Shipbuilding secured federal funding for construction of a new housing project on a tract of land along the James River; and
WHEREAS, named for a 19th century homestead that had occupied the site, Hilton Village had a planning team that included Newport News Shipbuilding president Homer L. Ferguson, town planner Henry Vincent Hubbard, engineer Francis H. Bulot, and architects Joseph D. Leland III and Francis Y. Joannes; and
WHEREAS, Hilton Village opened in July 1918 and eventually included 500 English cottage-style homes designed for wartime workers and their families; the community was the first of some 100 government housing projects completed during World War I; and
WHEREAS, unlike many planned communities, Hilton Village included lots that varied in size and several different home layouts; the village also featured a central commercial district and streetcar as well as plots for a church, library, firehouse, and school; and
WHEREAS, after World War I ended, the federal government declared Hilton Village surplus property and sold it to Henry E. Huntington, chairman of Newport News Shipbuilding; he began selling its houses on the private market, transitioning the wartime community into a residential neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, today, Hilton Village remains a thriving community of residential homes and locally-owned businesses and has maintained much of the integrity of its original English cottage-style architecture; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of its status as the federal government's first planned wartime community, Hilton Village was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969; and
WHEREAS, to mark its centennial, Hilton Village is holding a series of special events and historical lectures that will culminate with the Hilton Centennial Grand Celebration on July 7, 2018; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Hilton Village on the occasion of its 100th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Hilton Village as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for its rich history and legacy.
