Lambert's Point, Norfolk

Location and History

Map of Lambert's Point Neighborhood. Retrieved 2025 from Google Maps.

Lambert's Point is one of the oldest neighborhoods and industrial areas in Norfolk, Virginia. Lambert's Point is situated along the southern shore of the Elizabeth River and has deep-water port facilities.

Detail from 1889 Atlas of Norfolk. Sargeant Memorial Collection/ Norfolk Public Library. Retrieved 2025 from https://lambertspoint.wordpress.com/

The Lambert’s Point neighborhood is shown at left of railroad tracks, 1934. Sargeant Memorial Collection/Norfolk Public Library. Retrieved 2025 from https://lambertspoint.wordpress.com/

Named for Thomas Lambert, who patented 100 acres there in 1635, the neighborhood began as a town for railroad workers. In 1883, the first trainload of coal arrived in Norfolk from the Pocahontas Coalfield in West Virginia, and coal quickly replaced cotton as the city's main export. At the time, the Norfolk & Western Railroad piers were located in downtown Norfolk on the Elizabeth River waterfront. Because more space was needed to handle the growing shipments of coal, Norfolk & Western expanded into Lambert's Point in 1886.

By 1900, the Norfolk & Western Terminal had become the top coal-exporting port on the East Coast. In 1911, Lambert's Point officially became part of the City of Norfolk. The neighborhood was one of the first in Norfolk where Black residents could buy homes.

Old Dominion University Expansion and Neighborhood Destruction

In the 1960s and 70s, Old Dominion University (ODU) bulldozed parts of Lambert’s Point to expand their campus causing the neighborhood to shrink in size and forcing many long term residents to move away. This was despite the fact that Lambert's Point was a middle-class neighborhood with a “thriving business sector” and many homeowners. This is part of a long, racist history of Virginia's public universities displacing Black residents.

Today

Lambert's Point continues to be a predominantly African American neighborhood with a strong sense of community. The typical household earns around $42,000 a year, which is less than the citywide median household income in Norfolk ($64,017).

Coal Dust Pollution

The Norfolk & Western Terminal, now the Norfolk Southern Terminal, remains a feature of life in Lambert's Point, with its operations influencing the local economy, ambient noise of trains screeching slowly along the tracks, and distinctive black coal dust residues common on the outside surfaces of buildings. Community activism around the coal dust issue dates back to at least the 1970s, when neighborhood groups began organizing for stronger environmental protections and air monitoring. Residents have reported respiratory problems and other health concerns they attribute to long-term coal dust exposure. Activists have called for measures such as covered railcars, enclosed conveyor systems, and independent air quality testing. Norfolk Southern currently uses a wet dust suppression system, coating the sprinklers with reused stormwater. However, residents complain that these sprinklers are not always on, and are not fully suppressing the fugitive dust.

Organizations such as the Sierra Club, Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative, New Virginia Majority, and local community associations have periodically partnered to amplify residents’ voices. These groups generally focus their efforts both in Lambert’s Point and in Southeast Newport News, both historically Black neighborhoods alongside coal terminals. Their efforts have included petitions, public meetings, and engagement with city officials and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Norfolk Southern has maintained that the facility operates within regulatory limits and has implemented dust-control technologies, including water sprays and chemical suppressants. However, many community members argue that these measures are insufficient and that the problem persists

However, the Subcommittee has since taken no action to mitigate the coal dust, accepting assertions by Norfolk Southern that the air quality is fine and covering coal cars is prohibitively expensive. Further advocacy by New Virginia Majority has been necessary to compel Norfolk Southern to comply with requirements to submit annual reports on dust emissions mitigation measures. Community organizing around coal dust has been led by New Virginia Majority and the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, with community support coalesced around institutionalizing requirements for Norfolk Southern to cover coal-carrying rail cars and dumpers under the slogan, Cover the Coal.

Historical Records

Mapping Lambert's Point: In 2016, a group of undergraduate and graduate students from ODU interviewed residents who grew up in Lambert’s Point during the 1950s and 1960s to learn about how the neighborhood has changed over time. The students also gathered historical accounts of life in the neighborhood from the early 20^th century in the Norfolk Journal and Guide. This archive is available to the public on Mapping Lambert's Point, featuring transcribed interviews and photographs that highlight residents's stories and mapped to the places that shaped their experiences in the neighborhood.

Lambert’s Point: A Historical Geography: This collection was produced by students as part of an ODU historical geography course. Lambert’s Point: A Historical Geography includes historical content discussing the Norfolk & Western Railroad and the transport of coal through Lambert's Point, expansion of ODU, redlining of Lambert's Point by the Home Owner's Loan Corporation, and many maps and photographs, among other resources.

Documents

• Lazo et al., Community Perceptions, Environmental Impacts, and Energy Policy: Rail Shipment of Coal, Energy Policy, 24, 6, 531–540, 1996
• McPhillips, Lambert’s Point, Norfolk Public Library, 2013
• U.S. Census Bureau, Census Tract 25, Norfolk, VA. American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Census Reporter Profile, 2023