Located in the southern portion of the City of Suffolk (or the former Nansemond County), Whaleyville was established in 1877 around a sawmill. The Norfolk and Carolina Railroad, later the Atlantic Coast Line, arrived in 1884, and the Jackson Timber Company established a modern lumber mill and brought workers to the area. Although the Jackson Company left in 1919, the town remained a lumber processing as well as an agricultural center. Its rural and isolated location has meant the preservation of much of its historic character as a small, turn-of-the-twentieth-century industrial community. Most of Whaleyville's residences date from c. 1884–c. 1910 and are frame, oneand-one-half or two-story structures with front porches and modest millwork exterior detailing: turned or classical columns on porches and bracketed eaves. Roofs include gable and hipped forms and are usually covered with standing-seam metal. Decorative windows, such as side lights, transoms, and diamondshaped windows, are also common features on these houses. The sources appear to be various pattern books adapted to local building practices. A variation on the American Foursquare is at 6411 Whaleyville Boulevard. An I-house is at 6413 Whaleyville Boulevard, and a variation on the bungalow is at 6313 Whaleyville Boulevard. The Bank of Whaleyville (c. 1900), 6431 Whaleyville Boulevard, a single-story brick structure, served as one of the town's centers, for in addition to banking, it was used for weekly court sessions.