History of the City of Norton, Virginia

Early settlement occurred in Norton in the late eighteenth century. William Prince settled in the area in 1787, and his name was associated with that location for a century in the reference to it as Princes' Flats. As a rural frontier area, Princes' Flats prospered through development of agriculture and lumber-related industries.

The first U. S. Post Office was established in 1883 and named Eolia; but this was changed in 1890 to Norton to honor Mr. Eckstein Norton, President of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

It was during this boom period that Norton was connected to the industrialized east coast by steel ties of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. In 1889, the Norfolk and Western Railway Company dispatched five men to lay out a town.

Freight and passenger trains arrived on the scene in 1891, and Norton found itself heir both to a new prosperity and to the aspects of municipal disorder brought on by the "toughs" who were associated with mines and railroads.

Expansion of population, commerce and industry followed in the wake of railroad and related mining and industrial development. An urban settlement emerged and began to expand.

The Town of Norton was incorporated on February 15, 1894 under a council/mayor form of municipal government. Some historic records suggest that the Town of Norton was enlarged through additions of territory from Wise County.

However, other historians conclude that the original area of the Town of Norton remained at 2.4 square miles of land area until 1950 when approximately one square mile was annexed. This extended Norton to its current east-west boundaries, Ramsey and Esserville on the east and Josephine on the west.

A major governmental change occurred on September 1, 1936, when the Town of Norton adopted the manager form of municipal administration which remains to this day.

On April 6, 1954, the Virginia General Assembly granted a City Charter to the Town of Norton, thus creating the first city in far southwestern Virginia and, to this day, the only City in Wise County. Eight years later, in 1962, the City of Norton annexed three-fifths of a square mile of land from Wise County--a largely vacant area on the northeast side of the City adjacent to the community of Esserville.

Twelve years later, Norton again sought additional lands from Wise County and nearly doubled its land area when the County agreed to a transfer of 3.6 square miles of land to the City.

Of note in these two annexations by the City, little population or area subject to urban development was involved; e.g., the doubling of Norton's municipal land area in 1975 netted the City a gain of only 84 residents.

In recent years, the City of Norton has seen tremendous commercial growth along the U.S. 58 Corridor in the eastern section of the City. After many years of hard work, the long-awaited U.S. 23 Norton By-pass was completed in 1996. The By-pass is expected not only to relieve traffic congestion on Park Avenue (which previous traffic counts estiated over 24,000 vehicles traveled through downtown daily) but has improved the highway system for the region, which among other things, will assist in the region's economic development activities.

Today, the City of Norton remains a focal point of Southwest Virginia. Situated at the crossroads of U.S. 23 & U.S. 58 Alternate, the City remains the commercial and professional center for the area.

Several recent projects add to this excellent position. The Hotel Norton has just been renovated and two call centers and a small business incubator; also, the City completed a downtown revitalization project which made Park Avenue more attractive and easier to travel. With these projects and continued improvements in the transportation networks, the City is expected to continue to prosper and grow.

The City of Norton is beginning its second century with eagerness and anticipation of the many exciting things to come.