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By Laura Nebuchadnezzar
Collection Overview
Title: Wilmer Willis Houston Papers, 1876-1964, undated
ID: 001/01/MSS 0000-025
Primary Creator: Houston, Wilmer Willis (1869-1964)
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Arrangement: Arranged by series. Series 1: Speeches, Series 2: Clippings, Series 3: Correspondence, Series 4: Cards to Mrs. Houston, Series 5: Poems, Series 6: Genealogy, Series 7: Miscellaneous.
Date Acquired: 11/24/2014
Subjects: Genealogy, Norfolk (Va.), Norfolk (Va.)--Genealogy, Norfolk Community Fund, Rotary Club of Norfolk (Va.)
Forms of Material: Address books, Advertisements, Brochures, Budgets, Certificates, Citations, Clippings (information artifacts), Correspondence, Envelopes, Fragments, Genealogical tables, Genealogies (histories), Greeting cards, Membership cards, Menus, Nametags, Notes, Passports, Poems, Programs, Receipts, Speeches (documents), Stamps (marks)
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Speeches, correspondence, poetry, genealogy papers, and miscellaneous items relating to Wilmer Willis Houston.
Biographical Note
Wilmer Willis Houston was a major Norfolk civil leader and public speaker of the 20th century. Born on February 10, 1869 in Sadsbury Township in Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1886 to 1887 he was a schoolteacher in Chester County, Pennsylvania. From 1887 to 1904 he was in the publishing business in Philadelphia and briefly in Chicago, until his interests shifted to managing coal mines. For eight years he managed mining companies in Mingo County, West Virginia, then was an export agent for Houston Coal Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, founding its southern branch in Norfolk, Virginia. Afterwards, Houston co-managed the Pan-Handle Coal Company. He was also the local export agent for George E. Warren Corporation (a coal wholesaler based out of Boston) and for several steamship companies. In 1928, Houston retired from the coal business and he financed and led the Norfolk Industrial Commission in saving the naval town’s failing economy through diversification of industries, and convincing prospects that Norfolk had business potential. In 1928, Houston was the first person to receive the Cosmopolitan Club’s “First Citizen of the Year” award. In 1963, the Virginia National Bank elected Houston to the advisory board for the City of Norfolk. He played a vital role in transforming Virginia Beach into a tourist attraction, and in setting up a $1.1 million revolving fund which boosted the Tidewater economy. Houston was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Norfolk Maritime Exchange and secretary of the Hampton Roads Shipper’s Association. He was an active member of many clubs, including the Rotary Club, the Boys’ Club, and several country clubs. Houston was a life member of First Presbyterian Church and Olivet Masonic Temple. He died at 95 years old on February 17, 1964, leaving behind a $1.8 million legacy to be distributed among the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, Randolph-Macon Women’s College (funding a chapel in his wife’s name), and the Norfolk Boys’ Club, which built its second branch with the donated money that year, on Azalea Garden Road. Wilmer Willis Houston was buried in the Oxford Cemetery in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Sargeant Memorial Collection
Access Restrictions:
This collection is open to all researchers.
Use Restrictions:
The status of copyright for these materials is governed by Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.
Acquisition Source:
Unknown
Separated Materials:
Wilmer Willis Houston Photographs, MSS 0000-385.
Preferred Citation:
Wilmer Willis Houston Papers, MSS 0000-025, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.
Processing Information:
Processed September 18 - October 26, 2015.
Other Note:
Box 2 also houses Ship Stories Around the North Carolina Banks Scrapbook (MSS 0000-105).
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[
Box 1],
[Box 2],
[
All]
- Box 2
- Series 7: Miscellaneous
- Folder 10
- Item 32: Address Book, "Route Book: Route One," C. T. Ingram, undated
Browse by Box:
[
Box 1],
[Box 2],
[
All]
