Built "by Negroes for Negroes," Aberdeen Gardens began in 1934 as the model resettlement community for Negro families. It was the only such community in the United States designed by a Negro architect (Hilyard R. Robinson) and built by Negro . . . — — Map (db m41237) HM
This is the site of a popular alternative to Buckroe Beach, which had opened as a whites-only facility in the 1880s. Desiring to have a vacation resort by the sea for their own people, a group of African American leaders in Hampton formed the Bay . . . — — Map (db m131730) HM
A group of prominent local African Americans
formed the Bay Shore Hotel Company, purchased
land here, and in 1898 opened a resort for black
travelers. Ravaged by an Aug. 1933 hurricane, the
resort was rebuilt and operated until the 1970s. . . . — — Map (db m129839) HM
Polaris was a deterrent and retaliatory missile specifically designed for launch from a ballistic missile submarine while submerged (or surfaced) to strike a target some 1,500 miles away. A typical submarine carried 16 of these missiles which . . . — — Map (db m103955) HM
The A-7E Corsair II was first flown by on November 25, 1969, after the Navy decided that the A7-A & B needed more power and improved avionics. The A-7E was powered by a naval version of the 15,000 lbs Allison/Rolls-Royce TF41-A-2 turbofan . . . — — Map (db m103948) HM
Beginning from the early 1950s into the 1960s, during the Cold War era, concerns created the need for basing surface-to-air missiles near U.S. military installations. Built for the U.S. Army by Western Electric and initially deployed in . . . — — Map (db m103957) HM
Designed as a penetrator and long-range escort fighter, the F-101 Voodoo first appeared in 1954. The design was based on the earlier prototype XF-88, and no actual prototype F-101 was built. Later versions were used as long-range interceptors . . . — — Map (db m103949) HM
The F-105 Thunderchief was the last airplane produced by Republic Aviation before it became part of Fairchild Hiller. The Thunder chief was originally a private-venture study as a follow-on to the F-84F. Intended as a fighter bomber, . . . — — Map (db m103952) HM
First proposed in December of 1945, the F-89 Scorpion was designed as a replacement for the P-61 Black Widow. The first flight was on August 16, 1948. A novel design of the aircraft was the use of “decelerons,” split . . . — — Map (db m103950) HM
Hampton is home to one of the earliest military bases in America specifically built for air power. Langley Flying Field, as it was then called, witnessed and nurtured the growth of the United States Air Force.
The story of the land embraced by . . . — — Map (db m103906) HM
The Army's Corporal was the first U.S. ballistic missile originally developed by the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. It was powered by a liquid-fuel rocket engine and carried either a high explosive or nuclear warhead. A . . . — — Map (db m103956) HM
This is a test capsule of America's first manned spacecraft for Project Mercury. Engineer's had to devise a vehicle that would protect the human being from the temperature extremes, vacuum, the newly discovered radiation of space and . . . — — Map (db m103947) HM
In the early decades of the twentieth century, it took visionaries to imagine that airplanes might be useful in war and peace. Congress established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1915 “to supervise and direct the . . . — — Map (db m103905) HM
Americas space program got off the ground near here at NASA Langley Research Center. In 1958, spacecraft, procedures, and communication systems were designed and tested at the center, and the follow year the first astronauts reported to NASA . . . — — Map (db m103904) HM
Nike-Ajax is the first U.S. surface-to-air missile. The original Nike program was begun in 1945 and over 10,000 Nike-Ajax missiles serviced over 100 sites in 15 defense areas within the U.S. including the Hampton Roads area. . . . — — Map (db m103954) HM
The Phantom II is one of the most successful modern aircraft designs, with over 5,000 built. Developed for the U.S. Navy, it was also flown by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps, and was also sold too many foreign countries. Capable of . . . — — Map (db m103951) HM
Beginning in June 1943, after development of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, the need for a high-performance trainer aircraft with seen. The resulting T-33 T-Bird was basically an F-80 as shown here with an extended fuselage to allow . . . — — Map (db m103953) HM
In 1634, Capps Point, later known as Little England, was patented by William Capps, a prominent planter who maintained a lucrative saltworks. He served as a burgess in the 1619 General Assembly, the first representative legislative body in the New . . . — — Map (db m33900) HM
Little England Chapel, originally known as the Ocean Cottage Sunday School, was built about 1879 on property provided by Daniel F. Cock. Hampton Institute students regularly offered Sunday school lessons here to the African American Newtown . . . — — Map (db m33901) HM
You are standing within the foundations of the third church at Kecoughtan (present-day Hampton). The first church (1616–1624) was located 1.5 miles south of here and the second one was constructed across the Hampton River about two miles east. . . . — — Map (db m33899) HM
Here is the site of "The New Church of Kecoughtan", built before 1667 on Pembroke Farm as the third church of Elizabeth City Parish, established in 1610. It was a frame building and its brick foundation and some early colonial tombstones remain. . . . — — Map (db m33895) HM
Bronze field piece Made for Confederates in 1862 by Tredegar Foundry, Richmond Smoothbore Diameter of bore 4.62 inches Overall length 58.6 inches Range 1072 yards (0.5 miles) — — Map (db m42457) HM
Bronze field gun Made in 1862 for Union Forces by Ames Mfg. Company Chicopee, Massachusetts Diameter of Bore 4.125 inches Overall Length 73 inches Weight 912 pounds — — Map (db m42463) HM
Bronze field piece purchased by Confederates abroad Originally rifled; Converted to smoothbore Diameter of bore 3.74 inches Overall length 62 inches Made in Vienna in 1857 — — Map (db m42464) HM
In this casemate Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, was confined, May 22-October 2, 1865. As his health suffered in the casemate, he was removed to Carroll Hall in the fortress, where he remained from October, 1865, until May, . . . — — Map (db m10144) HM
Built by the Corps of Engineers about 1818, this was for many years a very important wharf. Jefferson Davis was landed here as a prisoner on May 22, 1865. — — Map (db m103842) HM
Not a weapon; Used for testing powder Iron smoothbore Diameter of bore 5.655 inches Cast with bed-piece to give an elevation of 45 degrees Made in 1858 Initials of inspector on muzzle Peter V. Hagner — — Map (db m42468) HM
The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived in August 1619 when a Dutch man-of-war landed here at Point Comfort. The Dutch captured the “twenty and odd” Africans from the Spanish, who had enslaved them, and traded them to the . . . — — Map (db m73826) HM
The first documented Africans in Virginia arrived here in Aug. 1619 on the White Lion, an English privateer based in the Netherlands. Colonial officials traded food for these “20 and odd” Africans, who had been captured from a . . . — — Map (db m129864) HM
Near here Captain John Ratcliffe built Fort Algernourne, 1609. In 1614, it was a stockade containing fifty people and seven cannon. In 1632, the fort was rebuilt. It was discontinued after 1667. In 1727, a new fort, Fort George, was ordered built . . . — — Map (db m73818) HM
The fort was begun in 1819 and named for President James Monroe. It remained in possession of the Union forces, 1861-65, and from it as a base McClellan began the Peninsular Campaign, 1862. Jefferson Davis was imprisoned here, 1865-67. — — Map (db m10319) HM
Fort Monroe is the largest stone fortification ever built in the United States. Construction began in 1819 and continued for 15 years. Second Lt. Robert E. Lee served as an engineer at Fort Monroe from 1831 to 1834. During the Civil War, Fort . . . — — Map (db m10357) HM
In this house President Abraham Lincoln stayed during his visit of May 6-11, 1862. It was here that President Lincoln, General Wool and Commodore Goldborough planned the attack on Norfolk, Virginia. — — Map (db m138062) HM
Building 27 was constructed about 1860. During the Civil War, and for a number of years after, it was occupied by the machine shop of the Fort Monroe Arsenal. This arsenal specialized in the manufacture of seacoast gun carriages. — — Map (db m103841) HM
Fort Monroe Concrete Seawall
Eastern Terminus
The place where you are standing marks the terminus of a seawall constructed along the southern shores of Old Point Comfort at various periods between 1895 to the mid-twentieth century. This seawall . . . — — Map (db m102144) HM
For Your Information
Safety is our top priority at Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe History
Fort Monroe, decommissioned in 2011, provided coastal defense to the Chesapeake Bay and served as an artillery school for the Army from the early . . . — — Map (db m103898) HM
For Your Information
Safety is our top priority at Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe History
Fort Monroe, decommissioned in 2011, provided coastal defense to the Chesapeake Bay and served as an artillery school for the Army from the early . . . — — Map (db m103899) HM
Strategic Location
Fort Monroe occupies a peninsula in the shape of the letter "J" or a “fishhook" surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay, Hampton Roads, and Mill Creek. The southern tip of the peninsula is known as Old Point Comfort and . . . — — Map (db m103859) HM
The first concrete seawall, constructed at Fort Monroe between March and August of 1895, was designed to provide better protection against coastal flooding and erosion. This concrete wall extended 664 feet from the eastern edge of where . . . — — Map (db m103860) HM
Fort Monroe was the site of Major General Benjamin F. Butlers decision in 1861 to accept escaping slaves as “contraband of war.” Thousands of former slaves who cast off their bondage and sought sanctuary here called this “The . . . — — Map (db m10366) HM
Harbor defense regiments were formed in the Coast Artillery Corps from SEP companies in 1924. The distinctive insignia of these regiments and station of the regimental headquarters in 1939 are shown on the signs of this battery. The regiments were . . . — — Map (db m103843) HM
Honoring
Dr. John J. Craven
of the United States Army
Whose Humanity, Intelligent Companionship and
Professional Skill Lightened The Monotony,
The Loneliness and the Physical Suffering of
Jefferson Davis
President of The Former . . . — — Map (db m102138) WM
Robert E. Lee, future Confederate General, was stationed at Fort Monroe 1831-1834 as a lieutenant of engineers. He had almost complete charge of construction and put the finishing touches on the fort. Lee's first child was born here in 1832. — — Map (db m8614) HM
In memory of first U.S. regular army officer killed in action during the Civil War Lieutenant John Trout Greble 2d U.S. Artillery USMA class of 1854 A member of this garrison killed in action at Big Bethel 10 June 1861 USMA graduates Fort . . . — — Map (db m16346) HM
The lighthouse, built in 1802, is the oldest standing structure at Fort Monroe. It remains an active navigational aid, the property of the U.S. Coast Guard. During the War of 1812, the tower was used as a lookout by a British invasion force while . . . — — Map (db m73848) HM
This tree, planted with authentic soil from Omaha Beach of Normandy, France, commemorates the 40th anniversary of Allied forces landings on 6 June 1944. It stands as a memorial to sacrifices in battle and a tangible symbol of our heritage. Planted . . . — — Map (db m12038) HM
This piece was originally a 10-inch, smooth bore gun. It was converted in 1876 at the West Point foundry, New York, to an 8-inch rifle by inserting a rifled steel tube in the barrel. This particular conversion process was a failure as the system . . . — — Map (db m42451) HM
Originally cast as a 10-inch, smooth bore gun, this weapon was converted to an 8-inch rifle in 1884 at the South Boston Iron Works. The gun weighs 15,800 pounds, has a length of 144 inches and a diameter and a diameter of 35 inches. The ordnance . . . — — Map (db m42452) HM
Cast in 1860, this was the first 15-inch Rodman Gun. Its range was more than four miles. Weight of the projectile was over 300 lbs. During Civil War it was used to bombard Confederate batteries on Sewells Point. The gun was named for President . . . — — Map (db m10320) HM
One of several large cisterns shown on a map of 1834. No potable water was ever found on Old Point Comfort, although one well was sunk to more than 900 feet. The garrison had to depend on cistern water and water brought in from wells on the mainland. — — Map (db m10334) HM
This zero mile post is a replica of the original post that stood here at the end of the track on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, from which point all main line distances have been measured for the 664.9 miles to Cincinnati, Ohio, since 1889. The . . . — — Map (db m73819) HM
In the largest land battle ever fought by the United States Army six hundred thousand valiant Americans rallied to defeat three powerful German armies in the snows of the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg. Almost 20 thousand soldiers made . . . — — Map (db m11478) HM
Water Battery
Built in 1832, this casemated battery protected the seaward approach to Fort Monroe. It was obsolete by the 1890s and demolished soon thereafter. All that remains is this powder room. The high ground beyond it s all that remains of a . . . — — Map (db m102143) HM
British Approach to Hampton
Following the British defeat at Craney Island on 22 June 1813, Adm. Sir John B. Warren sought revenge and ordered Adm. Sir George Cockburn and Gen. Sir Sidney Beckwith to attack Hampton. This port town was . . . — — Map (db m76815) HM
The Bunch of Grapes Tavern stood here during Hampton's heyday as a busy colonial seaport in the 1700s. The tavern, one of three then, served as an inn and meeting place for sea captains, planter and agents from the nearby customhouse where . . . — — Map (db m33827) HM
Old North Hampton life began with birth at the hands of midwives, including Nettie Washington and Rosa Callis Brown. Mrs. Brown lived at 868 North King Street (now 916 Quash Street). Children attended nursery schools run by concerned mentors, such . . . — — Map (db m151395) HM
The intersection of Quash (then known as North King Street) and Rip Rap Road pulsed with activity and was the centerpiece of the Old North Hampton community. On this corner Solomon Chandler built a grocery store in 1924. At the time there were no . . . — — Map (db m151390) HM
Hampton entered its second century as Virginias most important town. With merchant ships calling at its docks, paying customs duties and taking on hogsheads of tobacco, the growing village bustled with activity. Crews and ship captains, dockworkers . . . — — Map (db m76810) HM
First visited by Englishmen May 10, 1607.
Fortified at Old Point by Captain George Percy, October, 1609.
Settled by Lord De La Warr, July, 1610;
Reinforced by Sir Thomas Dale, May, 1611;
The Rev. William Mease being the first minister. . . . — — Map (db m33862) HM
From where you are standing, with marshes and creeks and wide-open vistas all around, it is not hard to visualize what this area looked like thousands of years ago when the only human residents of Fox Hill were Indians. Oysters, crabs, fish and wild . . . — — Map (db m151397) HM
The first landholders at Fox Hill had their work cut out for them. They had received grants for hundreds of acres of pine forests that dominated the landscape, and they used indentured servants and slaves to clear the forests, then to plant and . . . — — Map (db m151400) HM
This part of Fox Hill was the hub of a thriving fishing industry that put food on the tables of families from here to distant cities. At the heart of this industry was the fishing camp, which usually included a modest shanty where fishermen would . . . — — Map (db m151401) HM
In 1812, two Englishmen, William Johnson and Alex Weston, jumped ship out on the bay and made their way to Bell's Island, less than a half mile to the east of this marker. No one knows whether they were pirates or deserters, but Johnson brought . . . — — Map (db m151402) HM
The Back River Lighthouse was a familiar Fox Hill landmark for more than a century, guiding boats around dangerous shoals at Grandview and into the entrance of the York and Back rivers. The lighthouse was built in 1829 on four acres of land the . . . — — Map (db m151404) HM
The control of Hampton had been disputed during the wars first months. Brig. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler sought to expand Union control over the lower Peninsula. Despite his defeat during the June 10, 1861, Battle of Big Bethel, his troops occupied . . . — — Map (db m33838) HM
In 1791 Grafton Baptist Church, in York County, founded a mission in Hampton, Hampton Baptist Church, which called its first pastor, Richard Hurst, in 1806. After the War of 1812, the church began to grow so that it had 185 members by 1837. During . . . — — Map (db m33925) HM
“The courthouse, roofless and thoroughly gutted. [Its] chimney served oar cooks well in getting supper. The Telegraph tent was soon up and the operator at work on the newly strung wire to Fort Monroe.” – Pvt. Robert Knox . . . — — Map (db m33853) HM
When Capt. Jefferson C. Phillipss Confederate troops set the town of Hampton on fire on the evening of August 7, 1861, a house that stood on this King Street site was one of the many structures destroyed. Archaeology tells the story of its demise. . . . — — Map (db m33845) HM
The Native American village of Kecoughtan stood across the Hampton River in 1607. Soon after the English forcibly removed the inhabitants in 1610, the colonists settled there and the village grew. By the early eighteenth century, the royal . . . — — Map (db m33890) HM
John Mallory Phillips was a businessman, politician, resident and friend of Old North Hampton. He lived most of his life at 904 North King Street, now Quash Street, and was known by friends and neighbors as simply John Mallory.
John graduated . . . — — Map (db m151394) HM
In Dec. 1916, the U.S. Army purchased land four miles north of here to build an airfield to use jointly with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. During World War I, the Army trained aircrews and tested aircraft there. In 1921, Brig. . . . — — Map (db m33842) HM
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), created in 1915 to revitalize American aviation, was a pivotal force behind opening Langley Field in 1917 nearby to the north. It was named for the late Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley. . . . — — Map (db m33844) HM
On this site in 1726 John McDowell, who appraised estates and witnessed wills in Elizabeth City County, owned and operated an inn. It was bought by Dr. John Brodie in 1765. British Marine Captain Brown was treated here and died from wounds received . . . — — Map (db m33924) HM
An event that set the stage for Hamptons new century took place on the night of June 24, 1813 when a large force of British infantry and marines landed on the western edge of town and overwhelmed a much smaller group of defenders. The invaders then . . . — — Map (db m76811) HM
Old North Hampton was first identified in the census of 1850 and is the second oldest African American community in Hampton. The community of North Hampton was established by people formerly enslaved, many of whom were Contraband Slaves or their . . . — — Map (db m151392) HM
It began as a brief encounter. The Jamestown-bound English settlers landed at Strawberry Banks on April 30, 1607 and, after a wary first reception by native villagers, ended up breaking bread and smoking tobacco with them. During a stormy Christmas . . . — — Map (db m76809) HM
When Confederate Gen. John B. Magruder learned that the Federals intended to house troops and escaped slaves in Hampton, he burned down the town. Local soldiers, led by Capt. Jefferson C. Phillips, completed this “loathsome yet patriotic . . . — — Map (db m33847) HM
The oldest Anglican parish in continuous existence in America. Established in 1610, this is the fourth church built in the parish. It was erected in 1728 in the shape of a Latin cross. Its walls are two feet thick. The bricks are laid in Flemish . . . — — Map (db m33858) HM
The first Courthouse served Elizabeth City County (one of eight counties established in 1634) and Hampton, the county set. It was probably near the second church site of Elizabeth City Parish now the property of Hampton University. Court buildings . . . — — Map (db m33857) HM
Built by the Philadelphia Tobaggan Co.
in 1920
Located at the Buckroe Beach Amusement
Park from 1921-1985
Purchased by the City of Hampton in 1985
and completely restored in 1991
Grand Opening June 30, 1991
One of less than . . . — — Map (db m33835) HM
On this site prior to 1884 James Sands Darling built his Victorian home which survived the destructive fire of that year. The home was occupied by his daughter, Grace Darling Cumming, and her family until 1923. It later became the Magnolia Tree Inn . . . — — Map (db m33922) HM
On this corner in the 1750's was a large brick house owned by Captain Alexander Hamilton. John Paul, who owned and ran an ordinary during the Revolutionary War, sold the fifteen corner feet of the one-half acre lot to Thomas Latimer, Jr. It was . . . — — Map (db m33919) HM
The oldest surviving commercial structure in Old Hampton was built by William S. Sclater following the War Between the States. The lot is part of an original one-half acre on which, by the 1750's, was a large brick house belonging to a Captain . . . — — Map (db m33920) HM
The recovery that began with the seafood and hotel industries after the Civil War continued well into Hamptons fourth century. Oysters and d crabs were packed and shipped around the world. Tourism got a boost when the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad ran . . . — — Map (db m76814) HM
We Remember
Virginia Laydon
The First Surviving Child Born in Virginia to English Parents
Member of this Parish
Virginia Laydon was born about 1609, the first child of Anne Burras Laydon and John Layton.
Anne Burras, age . . . — — Map (db m33871) HM
Nearby, William Claiborne (1600-1677) built a warehouse about 1631 to support his trading post on Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay. When Maryland seized the island in 1632, Claiborne fought an unsuccessful "naval war." Born in Kent County, England, he . . . — — Map (db m33832) HM
On 10 June 1861, the first land battle of the Civil War in present-day Virginia took place here at Big Bethel Church. Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, commanding at Fort Monroe, sent converging columns at night from Hampton and Newport News for a dawn . . . — — Map (db m29142) HM
This is the site of the first land battle of the Civil War in present-day Virginia. During the spring of 1861, Federal officials took steps to secure Fort Monroe, which occupied a strategically vital position at the mouths of the Chesapeake Bay and . . . — — Map (db m66886) HM
Unlike at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the U.S. Army held Fort Monroe and its environs too strongly for Confederate forces to overcome. Instead, the Confederates concentrated on attempting to control Hampton Roads and protect Norfolk, the major . . . — — Map (db m103829) HM
Confederate Col. John Bankhead Magruder (1807-1871) graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1830. He served in e Second Sem inole War 1835-1842) and the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and commanded an artillery battery in . . . — — Map (db m103830) HM
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