a walk around
HODGES HOUSE



A side of the house as seen from Marsh Street.



A close-up of one of the third floor windows.
I like how the two doorways visible in the shot come in at angles.
Needless to say, I'd love to see it from the inside.




The view from Indian River road. The building attached to the side of the house was the kitchen, though in later years it was converted into a garage. Note the "no trespassing" sign in the front yard.



A close-up of the kitchen as I continue my circumference of the house.


The kitchen/garage door.


The back side of the kitchen.




I first discovered this house in the summer of 2000. I was driving along Indian River Road toward the Berkley area, saw it, admired it, and wondered about the history behind it. Ever since I've been aware of it, it seems like the house has been boarded up and abandoned. I did some searching on the Net and came up with the following information.

The house, located at the intersection of Indian River and Marsh Streets in the Campostella section of Norfolk, is known as Hodges House. It's one of the last remaining plantation houses in Norfolk and was built circa 1820. It is a Federal-style home. The same site that I found this information on says that it was built by John Hodges, who was a captain in the Virginia militia in 1784 and fought in the Battle of Craney Island in 1813. This last piece of information, however, is not entirely correct. The library at Old Dominion University has a collection of papers on the Hodges family, and there was another John Hodges in the family who was a captain in the Virginia militia. That John Hodges died in 1802. The John Hodges who may have built this house was born in 1786, did indeed fight at the Battle of Craney Island, and died in 1855. What's strange - and this is where the mystery comes in - is that these papers don't seem to mention this home in Campostella. The Hodges were a prominent family in Portsmouth and in the Western Branch area, and established some sort of ferry service in an area that is still known as Hodges Ferry today. So the story behind this home is not completely available, but I'll keep digging.