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[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Road Paving and Construction Projects in Virginia Photograph Album, 1916-1925, SC 0288, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
The photo album was acquired at Jeffrey S. Evans and Associates' Winter Americana and Variety Auction on February 16, 2019.
Per the auctioneer's description, the photo album came from a private collection Red Hook, New York. Additionally, a provenance note provided by the auctioneer suggests that this album was associated with Howard Hamilton Johnson (1894-1990) who was a sales representative for Universal Cement, a division of U. S. Steel.
Provenance information provided by the auctioneer suggests that this photograph album was once associated with Howard Hamilton Johnson (1894-1990). Johnson was a sales representative for Universal Atlas Cement Co., a division of U. S. Steel, for forty years prior to his retirement in 1959. He lived in the Washington, D. C. area from 1925 until 1981, when he moved to Harrisonburg.
The contracting firm Betts & Boice conducted the paving work in downtown Harrisonburg and Maloney Paving Company conducted the work on Rt. 20 between Scottsville and Charlottesville.
The Road Paving and Construction Projects in Virginia Photograph Album, 1916-1925, comprises approximately 140 black-and-white photographs of road-paving and construction projects in various Virginia towns and cities. The photographs document the workers, many of whom are African American, inspectors, foremen, machinery and equipment, and trains and horses involved in the construction projects. Surrounding buildings, telephone lines, automobiles, and landscapes are also depicted.
Road paving and construction projects documented in the album include Downtown Harrisonburg, 1916; Ash Block Factory, 1917; Norfolk, 1919; Charlottesville, 1921 (likely documenting the paving of Rt. 20 between Charlottesville and Scottsville); Carter's Bridge in Albemarle County, 1922; Scottsville, 1922; Ellerson, 1924; Hanover, 1924; Pamunkey River, 1924; and Gloucester Point, 1924-1925. The bulk of the photographs appear to document road paving projects, but there are also examples of sidewalk and sewer construction.
Businesses and streetscapes present in the Harrisonburg pictures include Bloom's Dry Goods & Millinery (located on Main Street across from the First National Bank), Court Square, and the courthouse.
Most of the photos contained in the album are inscribed with their location and/or year of the project. Some include inscriptions of people's names and their titles.
The album also contains two photographs of unidentified men. One photograph is inscribed "Semper Fidelis - E. J." It is plausible that this is a photograph of Howard J. Johnson's brother Bernard Elwood Johnson, though this assertion is purely conjectural.
The photograph album remains bound and is arranged according to its original order.