Newport is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Giles County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States, with the ZIP code of 24128. It is located in a valley between Salt Pond Mountain, Sherman's Nose and Gap Mountain.

Description

The origin of the town's name is uncertain. It may have been derived from the name of one of the first settlers in the area, Captain Newport. Other accounts describe the name as referring to the town being a new trading post and hence called Newport. A settlement on the coast, now known as Newport News, attempted to take away the name but a court held that Newport, being the older of the two, could keep its name. The community is just south of the

Sinking Creek Valley Cluster The Sinking Creek Valley Cluster is a region in the Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique recreational and scenic values as well as the importance of its watershed protection for Johns Creek and Craig Creek ...

and southeast of the

Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster The Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique waterfalls, vistas, trout stream and wildlife habitat. The heart of the region is the Mountain Lake Wilderness, the largest wilderness in the Geo ...

, areas in the

Jefferson National Forest The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Mountai ...

designated by the Wilderness Society as containing "Mountain Treasures".

History

As evidenced by Indian relics such as tomahawks and arrowheads, the area was once a hunting ground when settlers first arrived. The town was on the route of a stagecoach line running from

Yellow Sulphur Springs Yellow Sulphur Springs is a historic resort complex located near Christiansburg, Montgomery County, Virginia. The complex includes the main building; proprietor's cottage (1870s); three rows of cottages formerly denominated the Petersburg, Memphi ...

in Montgomery County and continuing on to West Virginia, then part of Virginia. During the Civil War a battle was fought around the town with armies located on adjacent hills. A fire destroyed most of the town on April 1, 1902, leaving only a few residences, two churches and some old stables. Places lost to the fire included Keister's Tannery, a Mason Hall, Miller's Store, Smith's Hotel, and a small drug store. An old slave house survived the fire providing shelter for the owners. Newport was a thriving community with many businesses. An iron foundry, located on Sinking Creek, made pig iron from ore mined near Newport. A woolen mill in Newport obtained power from a 37-foot diameter overshot water wheel. The mill was later converted into a woodworking plant, then into a blacksmith shop and then into an automobile workshop. There were several mills including the Zell Mill and the Payne Mill. The town had three distilleries, each with a bar room.

Notable people

Bob Porterfield Erwin Coolidge "Bob" Porterfield (August 10, 1923 – April 28, 1980) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for twelve seasons between 1948 and 1959 for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh ...

, baseball player * Mike Williams, baseball player *

Yancey Strickler Yancey Strickler (born November 4, 1978) is an American author, entrepreneur, and former music critic. He co-founded Kickstarter, the funding platform for creative projects and wrote ''This Could Be Our Future'', a 2019 Penguin Random House book ...

, co-founder of

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

*Michael Huffman, songwriter

References

External links

Newport area profileNewport Historic DistrictGreater Newport Rural Historic District
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Giles County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia