Newport News was settled by Irish colonists c.1620 but did not grow appreciably until 1880, when it became the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio RR. In 1862 the famous battle between the ironclad ships Monitor and Merrimack Monitor and Merrimack, two American warships that fought the first engagement between ironclad ships. When, at the beginning of the Civil War, the Union forces abandoned the Norfolk Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Va., they scuttled the powerful steam frigate Merrimack.
..... Click the link for more information. took place off Newport News. Points of interest include the Mariners Museum (including the U.S.S. Monitor Center), the War Memorial Museum of Virginia, the Virginia Living Museum and Planetarium, and the Victory Arch (1919, rebuilt 1962). Fort Eustis, with the Matthew Jones House (1660) on the fort's grounds, is there. Christopher Newport Univ. is in the city.
Newport News
City (pop., 2000: 180,150) and port of entry, southeastern Virginia, U.S., at the mouth of the James River. The site was settled in 1621 by 50 colonists from Ireland. It was incorporated as a city in 1896 and was an important embarkation point in both World Wars. With Norfolk and Portsmouth, it constitutes the Port of Hampton Roads. It is the site of one of the largest shipyards in the world, producing luxury liners, aircraft carriers, and nuclear-powered submarines.
Newport News
Newport News, VA 23607
Phone: (757) 926-8411
Fax: (757) 926-3503
www.newport-news.va.us
In southeastern VA at the mouth of the James River and the entrance to Hampton Roads, 11 mi. northwest of Norfolk. Established in 1880; incorporated as a city in 1896. Name Origin: Possibly for Sir Christopher Newport and Sir William Newce, the latter name changed by folk etymology. In 1619 called Newportes Newce.
Area (sq mi): 119.05 (land 68.29; water 50.76). Pop per sq mi: 2634.30.
Pop 2005: 179,899. State rank: 11. Pop change: 2000-20005 -0.10%; 1990-2000 5.90%. Pop 2000: 180,150 (White 52.00%; Black or African American 39.10%; Hispanic or Latino 4.20%; Asian 2.30%; Other 5.10%). Foreign born: 4.80%. Median age: 32.00.
Income 2000: per capita $17,843; median household $36,597; Pop below poverty level: 13.80%. *Personal per capita income 2000-2003: $21,913-$25,233.
Unemployment 2004: 4.70%. Change from 2000: 0.60%. Median travel time to work: 23.00 minutes. Working outside county of residence: 43.90%.
Cities with population over 10,000:
 (181,913) | (145,951) |
See other counties in Virginia.
Newport News
a city in the southern United States, in the state of Virginia. Population, 138,000(1970; including suburbs, 292,000).
Newport News is a port on Hampton Roads, located at the mouth of the James River. The port’s freight volume for 1970 equaled 13 million tons, primarily consisting of exported anthracite and tobacco. A total of 27,000 workers are employed in industry. Newport News has one of the largest dockyards in the USA, and atomic submarines are constructed there. Metalworking is carried on and large metal structural components are produced for use in the chemical and atomic industries. Oil is refined, and chemicals and canned goods are manufactured. There is commercial fishing. Newport News was founded in 1621.
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