Newport News Virginia History

Located at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula on the north shore of the James River, the city extends to Hampton Roads. The community was named for Capt. Christopher Newport who explored the area in 1607 as an English privateer and navigator. He transported colonists to America’s first permanent English colony, Jamestown, (104 settlers, including Capt. John Smith) and several times thereafter. The City of Newport News was founded by Collis P. Huntington who also founded the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads. In 1886 he also founded what is known today as Newport News Shipbuilding. Prior to WWII, the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company was one of the five largest shipbuilders in the United States, employed over 31,000 people. Today the company is owned by Northrop Grumman and remains the nation’s largest private shipbuilder. During the Civil War in Newport News, the USS Monitor, the famous Union ironclad, prevented the Merrimac (renamed the USS Virginia) from breaking the Union blockade on the James River. The Virginia War Museum in Newport News offers fascinating exhibits and history of the area’s involvement in the Civil War. Also, the Mariners’ Museum contains a replica of the USS Monitor’s turret.