Newport News has a long history dating back to the days of

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

. The area which is now the city of Newport News has existed under different names and forms including

Elizabeth Cittie Elizabeth City (or Elizabeth Cittie as it was then called) was one of four incorporations established in the Virginia Colony in 1619 by the proprietor, the Virginia Company of London, acting in accordance with instructions issued by Sir George Yeard ...

, Warwick River Shire,

Warwick County, Virginia Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Newport News on July 16, 1952. Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the no ...

, Warwick City, and the current

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

Newport News in Elizabeth Cittie, Warwick County

During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of

in 1607, English settlers and explorers began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. In 1610, Sir Thomas Gates took possession of a nearby Native American village which became known as

Kecoughtan In the seventeenth century, Kecoughtan was the name of the settlement now known as Hampton, Virginia, In the early twentieth century, it was also the name of a town nearby in Elizabeth City County. It was annexed into the City of Newport News in 19 ...

. In 1619, the area of Newport News was included in one of four huge corporations of the

Virginia Company of London The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. History Origins The territor ...

, and became known as

, which extended west all the way to

Skiffe's Creek Skiffe's Creek is located in James City County and the independent city of Newport News in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. It is a tributary of the James River. Early history ...

(currently the border between Newport News and James City County. Elizabeth Cittie also included all of present-day

South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (Metropolitan S ...

. By 1634, the English colony of Virginia consisted of a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants and was redivided into eight shires of Virginia, which were renamed as

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

shortly thereafter. The area of Newport News became part of Warwick River Shire, which became Warwick County in 1637. By 1810, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

was at

Denbigh Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills. History ...

. For a short time in the late 19th century, the county seat was moved to Newport News. Early Warwick County and Elizabeth City consisted of farms and plantations granted to landholders and settlers. Some of these included the Newport News (Parker West) Farm at present-day 18th Street and Harbor Road, Bolthorpe plantation, Denbigh Plantation, Windmill Point, Celey's, Richneck, Bourbon, End view, Lee Hall, Cedar Grove, Briarfield and others. In 1704 there were just 125 properties registered in Warwick. Bourbon, Endview, Lee Hall and Cedar Grove (privately occupied) are still standing. Daniel Gookin, a native of Newcetown, Ireland, arrived in 1621 and is the first documented owner of land in Newport News. Gookin's tract of over ran along the James River from Newport News Point at least four miles (6 km) to the north. This tract of land had been known by Captain John Smith who had noted that there was a spring with good water here, where ships navigating the James stopped for fresh water. Between 1632 and 1639, John Chandler bought Newport News from Daniel Gookin, Jr. A large portion of this land included a cattle plantation called Marie’s Mount. The bulk of the tract lay in the long, narrow County of Warwick, which fronted the James River. Tobacco wharves and warehouses lined the river’s deep-water docks. The Newport News acreage along the Hampton Roads waterfront also included fresh water springs where ships navigating the James filled their water casks. John later sold the Marie’s Mount portion of the land to Capt. Benedict Stafford, perhaps in the 1650s when his sons were forming their families. Chandler’s land was eventually divided into a number of farms including Newport News Farm, Pumpkin Hall, the Washington Burk tract, the Wilbern tract, and the Hawkins tract. This property comprises all of the land in Newport News along the James River from Newport News Point to the Mariner's Museum.

1881–1896: tiny farming village becomes a new city

Newport News was merely an area of farm lands and a fishing village until the coming of the railroad and the subsequent establishment of the great shipyard. As a 16-year-old in 1837,

Collis P. Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested i ...

had visited the rural village known as Newport News Point. He later became wealthy as one of the men who built the first

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

across the western United States. He was recruited to help complete the railroad link from the

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...

of the James River to the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

, which was accomplished in 1873. The completion of the new

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

(C&O) also opened up access to the massive coal resources of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. However, a deepwater port was needed; the James River at Richmond was too shallow for colliers. The solution for the C&O was its

Peninsula Subdivision The Peninsula Extension which created the Peninsula Subdivision of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) was the new railroad line on the Virginia Peninsula from Richmond to southeastern Warwick County. Its principal purpose was to provide an i ...

, built as an extension from Richmond east about to

Point. Opened in late 1881, it provided an important pathway for coal mined in West Virginia to reach the harbor of

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

for coast wise and export shipping. No place on the Peninsula benefited more from the completion of the C&O's Peninsula Subdivision than southeastern Warwick County, soon to become better known as Newport News. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway became one of the country's wealthiest as West Virginia coal moved eastward to the

coal pier A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship. The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into ...

s. The coal volume of the C&O, combined with that of the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precis ...

(N&W) shipping from

Lambert's Point Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facili ...

and that of the later-completed

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. Histor ...

(VGN) at

Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to t ...

turned the harbor of

, the East Coast of the United States' largest ice-free port, into the largest coal export point in the world by 1915. Collis P. Huntington and his associates set developing the tiny unincorporated community at Newport New Point. His Old Dominion Land Company built the landmark Hotel Warwick, opened in 1883, which played a significant role in the development of the city. The hotel dominated the landscape, and was the civic and commercial center of the area during its early years. The first bank at Newport News, the first newspaper, the U.S. post office, the federal customs office, and even the municipal government of Warwick County were each located within the Hotel Warwick, at least for a time. It was also the site in 1886 of the organizational meeting for the Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Company. The latter evolved into the

Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...

. For a brief time, Warwick County shifted the location of its

to Newport News from the historic location at

, where it had been situated since colonial times. However, the growth at Newport News was such that, in 1896, by an act of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

, it became one of only two Virginia localities to ever become an

without the additional stepping-stone of first becoming an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United Kingdom United States An in ...

. (Virginia has had an

political subdivision since 1871).

Walter A. Post Walter A. Post (died February 12, 1912) was the first mayor of Newport News, Virginia. He was born in Kingston, New York on the 7th of January, 1857, and studied as a civil engineer. He was sent to Newport News by his brother-in-law, Eugene Whi ...

served as the city's first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Two Kecoughtans

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

neighborhood.

The first half of the 20th century: 2 world wars

In the early years, leaders of the community and shipyard were virtually interchangeable. The newly incorporated city's first mayor, initially appointed, and then elected in 1898, was

. He had come to the area as one of the builders of the C&O Railway's terminals. He later became president of the shipyard, serving from March 9, 1911 to Feb. 12, 1912, when he died. On March 14, 1914,

Albert L. Hopkins __NOTOC__ Albert L. Hopkins Jr. (1931 - 2016) was an American computer designer. He worked at the US MIT Instrumentation Laboratory (now known as the Draper Lab) during the development of the Apollo Guidance, Navigation, and Control System, or t ...

, a young New Yorker trained in engineering took over leading the shipyard. He was traveling to England on the on shipyard business when he died on May 7, 1915, after the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat off Queenstown on the Irish coast. 127 other Americans also lost their lives. His assistant Fred Gauntlett, was also on board, but was able to swim to safety. The ''Lusitania'' incident was among the events that brought the United States into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Between 1918 and 1920, NNS delivered 25

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

s. Among all of the early shipyard leaders, after city and shipyard founder Collis Huntington, Homer Lenoir Ferguson is probably the best remembered for various roles in the community as well as his work and long tenure at the shipyard. He was a manager there when Albert Hopkins died, and assumed the presidency the following July. He saw the company through both world wars. As war clouds loomed over the U.S. in 1917, Ferguson had a major role in the development of

Hilton Village Hilton Village is a planned English-village-style neighborhood in Newport News, Virginia. Recognized as a pioneering development in urban planning, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood was built between 1918 ...

, located just northwest of the shipyard, it became one of the first planned communities in the country. Built in 1918 by the federal government to house shipyard workers, the planners met with the wives of shipyard workers. Based on their input 14 house plans were designed for the projected 500 English-village-style homes. After the war, in 1922, Henry Huntington, who had a close relationship with Ferguson, acquired it from the government, and helped facilitate the sale of the homes to shipyard employees and other local residents. Three streets there were named after Post, Hopkins, and Ferguson. Hilton Village was the first significant suburb in Warwick County.NRHP Nomination Form, Hilton Village, Item 8, p. 2.
/ref>NRHP Nomination Form, Hilton Village, Item 8, p. 3.
/ref> After the war, NNS began building

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s. ''Ranger'' was delivered in 1934. It is an activity that was continuing as of 2008. At the shipyard, Homer Ferguson served until July 31, 1946, after the

second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

had ended on both the European and Pacific fronts. As a noted community leader, he was a co-founder of the

Mariners' Museum The Mariners' Museum and Park is located in Newport News, Virginia, United States. Designated as America’s ''National Maritime Museum'' by Congress, it is one of the largest maritime museums in North America. The Mariners' Museum Library, cont ...

with Archer M. Huntington and his wife,

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Anna Hyatt. Ferguson remained active with the museum until his death. The former

Homer L. Ferguson High School Ferguson High School was a high school in Newport News, Virginia, United States. It was named after Homer L. Ferguson, the president of Newport News Shipbuilding from July 22, 1915 until July 31, 1946. It was operated by Newport News Public Schools ...

was named for him, as was the more recent Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts, located adjacent to the Mariners' Museum and

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, the first permanent English ...

Consolidation with Warwick

A wave of political consolidations swept across the Hampton Roads region beginning in the 1950s after the fast population growth years of World War II and the period after. Independent city status guarantees protection against annexation of territory by adjacent communities. After years of resisting annexation efforts by Newport News, in 1952, Warwick County was successful in petitioning the Virginia General Assembly to become the independent

city of Warwick The City of Warwick was a local government area administering the regional centre of Warwick in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. The City covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1861 until 1994, when it was dis ...

. The first and only city manager of Warwick was J. Clyde Morris. In 1958, the citizenry of the cities of Warwick and Newport News voted by referendum to consolidate the two cities, choosing to assume the better-known name of Newport News, and forming the third largest city population-wise in Virginia with a area. The boundaries of the city of Newport News today are essentially the boundaries of the original Warwick River Shire and those of Warwick County for most of its existence, with the exception of minor border adjustments with neighbors.

Huntington family, notable community roles

In addition to Collis, other members of the Huntington family also played major roles in Newport News. After his uncle's death, his nephew,

Henry E. Huntington Henry Edwards Huntington (February 27, 1850 – May 23, 1927) was an American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books. Huntington settled in Los Angeles, where he owned the Pacific Electric Railway as well as substantial real estate ...

, assumed leadership of the shipyard.

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city in the Gateway Cities district of southeastern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside th ...

, developed after

near the northern terminus of the

James River Bridge The James River Bridge (JRB) is a four-lane divided highway lift bridge across the James River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation, it carries U.S. Route 17 (US 17), US 258, ...

, is named for him. Collis Huntington's son,

Archer Milton Huntington Archer Milton Huntington (March 10, 1870 – December 11, 1955) was a philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic Studies. He founded The Hispanic Society of America in New York City, and made ...

and his wife, sculptor

Anna Hyatt Huntington Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (March 10, 1876 – October 4, 1973) was an American sculptor who was among New York City's most prominent sculptors in the early 20th century. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thrivi ...

, developed the

beginning in 1932, creating a natural park and the community's Mariners' Lake in the process. A major feature of Newport News, the Mariners' Museum has grown to become one of the largest and finest

maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...

s in the world.

Official song

In July 1989, Newport News City Council adopted via resolution Newport News' official city song, "Newport News," written by native Ronald W. Bell. The song voices the community's links to both the nation's earliest beginnings and its longstanding maritime heritage:

Newport News Harbor of a thousand ships Forger of a nation's fleet Gateway to the New World Where ocean and river meet Strength wrought from steel And a people's fortitude Such is the timeless legacy (chorus) Of a place called Newport News Nestled in a blessed land Gifted with a special view Forever home for ev'ry man With a spirit proud and true (repeat chorus)

References

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Newport News, Virginia