POPLAR HALL 



T was about the year 1640 that the first member 

 of the Hoggard family came to this country. 

 Shortly after that, he obtained from the Crown a 

 tract of land in Tidewater Virginia, and this grant, 

 it is interesting to note, has never passed out of 

 the possession of his descendants of the same name 

 and blood. As the place has never been sold, it has never been 

 identified with any other name than that of Hoggard. 



Tradition says that the place name. Poplar Hall, originated 

 from the numerous and very fine poplar trees planted about the 

 house; there is also a story that these trees were brought from 

 England. This, however, seems almost impossible. To begin with, 

 the ships of the seventeenth century were too small, navigation was 

 too difficult and absolute necessities were so essential, that the early 

 colonists could not afford to consider anything else. But, even if 

 the trees were imported and were put out, two centuries later not 

 one of the original growth of poplars remains. Their place has 

 been well taken by pecan trees, which shade the lawn; and add to 

 this, their great commercial value. 



The house, a plain brick structure, stands on a slight elevation 

 directly on the shores of Broad Creek, a tributary of the Elizabeth 

 River, which flows through Norfolk County. Though once far 

 from civilization, the dwelling is now almost in the heart of the 

 city of Norfolk. The exact date of its building is not known, but 

 interior and exterior work and design, the type of brick used, and 

 the general atmosphere of the smaller buildings, would seem to 

 place it about 1645. The following poem, written in June, 1828, 

 gives the best description of life at Poplar Hall to be had: 



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