Norfolk

Norfolk, cities, United States

Norfolk (1, 2 nôr`fək; 2 nôr`fôk').

1 City (1990 pop. 21,476), Madison co., NE Nebr., on the Elkhorn River; inc. 1881. A trade and railroad center in a fertile farming region, it has a livestock market. Its industries produce animal feeds, food and beverages, and electronic products.

2 City (1990 pop. 261,229), independent and in no county, SE Va., on the Elizabeth River and the southern side of Hampton Roads; founded 1682, inc. as a city 1845. It is a port of entry and a major commercial, industrial, shipping, and distribution center. With Portsmouth and Newport News, it forms the Port of Hampton Roads, one of the world's best natural harbors. The city has 50 mi (80 km) of waterfront and an extensive maritime trade, exporting coal, grain, tobacco, seafood, and farm products. Industries include shipbuilding, meat and seafood processing, and the manufacture of lumber, steel, sheet metal, leather products, farm implements, textiles, trucks, and furniture.

Norfolk is also a major military center; with Portsmouth the city forms an extensive naval complex. The headquarters of the 5th Naval Dist., the Atlantic Fleet, the 2d Fleet, and the Supreme Allied Command are there. The operating base is the largest in the United States and includes a naval air station and other facilities. The Norfolk navy yard is in Portsmouth.

Of interest in Norfolk are St. Paul's Church (1738; only building to survive the burning of 1776); Fort Norfolk (1794); the Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Early Career

MacArthur was reared on army posts and attended military school in Texas.
.....  Memorial, where the general is buried; and many old homes. Norfolk is home to Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk State Univ., Virginia Wesleyan College, and Eastern Virginia Medical School. A national maritime center is there, and the city hosts an international arts festival. Bridge-tunnels link Norfolk with the Delmarva Peninsula and with Hampton, Va.

A rallying point for Tory forces at the start of the American Revolution, Norfolk was attacked (1776) by Americans and in the ensuing battle caught fire and was nearly destroyed. In the Civil War it was first a Confederate naval base; the battle between the Monitor and Merrimack was fought in Hampton Roads. Norfolk fell to Union forces in May, 1862.

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Norfolk, county, England

Norfolk (nôr`fək), county (1991 pop. 736,700), 2,054 sq mi (5,320 sq km), E England. The county seat is Norwich. The region is one of flat, fertile farmlands, with a long, low coast bordering on the North Sea and the Wash. The principal rivers are the Ouse, the Bure, the Yare and its tributary the Wensum, and the Waveney. A series of connected shallow lakes, known as the Broads, occupies the eastern portion of the county. Norfolk produces cereal and root crops and supports extensive breeding of cattle and poultry. Fishing, the manufacture of agricultural machinery, and light industries are also important. Numerous vestiges of habitation dating from prehistoric times remain. After the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England, Norfolk became a part of the kingdom of East Anglia, the home of the "north folk" of that region (thus its name). In 1974, Norfolk was reorganized as a nonmetropolitan county, and a small area of NE East Suffolk was added to it.

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Norfolk

Administrative and historic county (pop., 2001: 796,733), eastern England. Bounded by Suffolk (south), Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire (west), and the North Sea (north and east), it is low-lying and has reed swamps, including the famous Broads that resulted from medieval peat cutting and a subsequent change in sea level. Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic artifacts have been found, including impressive Stone Age flint mines in Breckland. In the Middle Ages the region's prosperity depended mainly on wool. Among the county's most important cities is Norwich. The economy is now largely agricultural.

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Norfolk

City (pop., 2000: 234,403), southeastern Virginia, U.S. A port of entry on the Elizabeth River, it is located just south of Hampton Roads. Founded in 1682, it was incorporated as a borough in 1736. It was destroyed by fires in 1776 and 1799. Yellow fever killed 10% of the population in 1855. During the American Civil War the city was occupied by Union troops. Prosperity resumed after 1870 when railroads linked the port to other trade centres. With Newport News and Portsmouth it makes up the Port of Hampton Roads. Shipping, shipbuilding, and light industry are the major economic activities. Norfolk is the headquarters of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and NATO's Supreme Allied Command, Atlantic.