Lambert's Point was named for Thomas Lambert, who patented 100 acres (400,000 m2) there on the east side of the bay of the Elizabeth River on June 1, 1635, when the territory was still a part of
Elizabeth River Shire in colonial Virginia. Lambert was an ensign in the
Lower Norfolk County Militia by 1640 and was later a major in the same outfit. He was subsequently a member of the Assembly at
Jamestown for Lower Norfolk County in 1652, and by the time of his death in 1671 he was the proud bearer of the title Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lambert. Lambert's Point was located in
Norfolk County when that county was formed from Lower Norfolk County in 1691. The
Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad (N&P) was built under the oversight of
William Mahone, young
civil engineer from
Southampton County, Virginia who had been educated in the first graduating class of
Virginia Military Institute (VMI). A rail link to the west had long been a dream of Norfolk citizens led by Dr.
Francis Mallory. Despite delays, financial constraints, and the
Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1855, by 1858, young Mahone and his N&P workforce had bridged both the
Eastern and
Southern Branches of the
Elizabeth River, deployed a
corduroy roadbed across the northern portion of the
Great Dismal Swamp and completed the line west to
Petersburg. At the Cockade City, connections could be made with a north-south railroad to
Richmond or
North Carolina, as well as more importantly, the
South Side Railroad to
Lynchburg which itself connected with the
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad (V&T). Eventually, a rail link all the way to the
Mississippi River and the
Gulf of Mexico at
New Orleans was thus seen as possible. linen-era postcard (1930–1945) aerial view of Lambert's Point Coal Pier Things were looking very favorable for both Norfolk and the new enterprise when operations were completely disrupted by the
American Civil War, which was to last five years and do great damage to the railroads. Although the Confederacy lost the war, Mahone emerged as the so-called hero of the
Battle of the Crater. He promptly set about leading the efforts to rebuild the N&P and its connecting railroads, funded with money from British bondholders. By 1870, he controlled all three, renamed jointly as the
Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O). There is ample evidence that Mahone had become aware of the potential wealth represented by untapped
bituminous coal reserves in southern West Virginia, and had planned a fourth railroad and acquired land to capitalize upon them. However, the
Financial Panic of 1873 forced the AM&O into defaulting on its bonds and delaying any thoughts of expansion. After several years of receivership, the bondholders lost confidence in Mahone and he lost control of the AM&O. It operated under receivership for a number of years and Mahone struggled to obtain adequate financing to regain control. Finally, in 1881, it was sold at auction, but Mahone was outbid. Instead,
Philadelphia interests won and renamed as the
Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). (Mahone went on to a career in Virginia and national politics and saw to it that some of the proceeds from the sale of the state's portion of the investment in what had been "his" railroad went to build a school for blacks which ultimately became
Virginia State University (VSU), near Petersburg). The new Philadelphia owners were also keenly aware of the opportunities represented by southern West Virginia coal, where they owned much land. Soon, under the leadership of
Frederick J. Kimball, they set about extending their lines west from the
New River Valley to reach them. The first carload of coal arrived in Norfolk and Western's Eastern Branch Terminal in 1883. Many more were to follow, and soon it was apparent that a larger facility for loading the coal onto ships would be needed. Land was acquired in Norfolk County just outside the City of Norfolk on the harbor. Facilities were developed there, and the first of many
coal piers to come opened at Lambert's Point in 1886. The N&W tracks were extended directly to the new coal piers at Lambert's Point upon their completion. A residential section was also developed to house the families of the workers. Many early residents of Lambert's Point were involved in the coal industry. By 1900, Norfolk was the leading coal exporting port on the East Coast. The area including Lambert's Point was annexed by the city of Norfolk in 1911. Norfolk and Western expanded greatly, and in the 1980s, the Class 1 railroad became part of
Norfolk Southern Corporation, a
Fortune 500 Company headquartered in Norfolk. The headquarters moved to
Atlanta, Georgia, in 2018. ==Norfolk Southern - Pier 6==