North Newport News , Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Newport News

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010

1. Newport News Marker

Inscription. This area was first referred to as "Newportes Newes" as early as 1619, and the first known English settler lived here in 1621. Several Civil War engagements took place here including the Battle of the Ironclads and the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Newport News remained a small community until the late 19th century when it became the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co. The Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. was founded here in 1886. Newport News was established as a town in 1880 and became a city in 1896. It served as the headquarters of the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation in World Wars I and II.

Erected 2001 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number W-70.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil • War, World I • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1619.

Location. 37° 10.787′ N, 76° 33.077′ W. Marker is in Newport News, Virginia. It is in North Newport News. It can be reached from the intersection of Jefferson Avenue (Virginia Route 143) and Constitution Way, on the right when traveling west

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. This marker is located in the Newport News Visitor Center parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13560 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News VA 23603, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula,

in Hampton Roads,

in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Building a Bridge of Friendship (approx. 0.2 miles away); Newport News Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); “Just Like Sap – Boiling, in the Stream” (approx. 0.7 miles away); John Bankhead Magruder (approx. ¾ mile away); Ten Pound Parrott Rifle and Limber (approx. ¾ mile away); “The Bullets Would Whistle Around my Head” (approx. ¾ mile away); Peninsula Campaign Warwick River (approx. 0.8 miles away); “Their Conduct was Worthy of Veterans” (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newport News.

Also see . . .
1. City of Newport News. (Submitted on August 3, 2010.)
2. Newport News Tourism. (Submitted on August 3, 2010.)

Newport News Vistor Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010

2. Newport News Vistor Center

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,060 times since then and 27 times this year. Last updated on March 15, 2022, by James Dean of Chesterfield, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 3, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.