Aberdeen GardensBuilt by Negroes, for Negroes, Aberdeen Gardens began in 1934 as the model resettlement community for Negro families. It was the only such community i... [click for more]
Admiral Sir George Cockburn on the ChesapeakeDuring the War of 1812, a British naval squadron arrived in Hampton Roads on 4 Feb. 1813 to establish a naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay. Later co... [click for more]
Battle of Big BethelOn 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, co... [click for more]
British Approach to HamptonFollowing 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. Si... [click for more]
BuckroeIn 1620, Frenchmen sent over to plant mulberry trees and grape vines settled here. The name was taken from a place in England.... [click for more]
Bunch of Grapes TavernThe 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 ... [click for more]
Camp HamiltonIn this vicinity was situated Camp Hamilton, a large camp of Union troops first occupied in May, 1861. A great military hospital, Hampton Hospital, wa... [click for more]
Chesterville PlantationOne mile north is Chesterville, birthplace of George Wythe (1726-1806), a prominent Virginia attorney, judge, legislator, and signer of the Declaratio... [click for more]
Confinement of Jefferson DavisIn this casemate Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, was confined, May 22-October 2, 1865. As his health suffered in the casemate, h... [click for more]
Emancipation OakThis historic tree, located here on the campus of Hampton University, is a large sprawling oak. Emancipation Oak (quercus virginiana) was the site of... [click for more]
First Africans in VirginiaThe 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 a... [click for more]
First Battle of IroncladsIn Hampton Roads, southward and a mile or two offshore, the Virginia (Merrimac) and the Monitor fought their engagement, March 9, 1862. The day before... [click for more]
Fort AlgernourneNear here Captain John Ratcliffe built Fort Algernourne, 1609. In 1614, it was a stockade containing fifty people and seven cannon. In 1632, the fort ... [click for more]
Fort MonroeThe 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 McClell... [click for more]
Freedom’s FortressFort Monroe was the site of Major General Benjamin F. Butler's decision in 1861 to accept escaping slaves as contrabands of war. Thousands of former s... [click for more]
Historic HamptonThe Native American village of Kecoughtan stood across the Hampton River in 1607. Soon after the English forcibly removed the inhabitants in 1610, the... [click for more]
John Baptist Pierce--(1875-1942)A Cooperative Extension Service pioneer, innovator, and educator, John Baptist Pierce was appointed in 1906 by Seaman Knapp and H. B. Frissell of Hamp... [click for more]
Langley Field: Creating An Air ForceIn 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 Aeron... [click for more]
Langley Field: Discovering AerospaceThe National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), created in 1915 to revitalize American aviation, was a pivotal force behind opening Langley Fi... [click for more]
Little EnglandIn 1634 Capps Point, later known as Little England, was patented by William Capps, a prominent planter who maintained a lucrative saltworks. He served... [click for more]
Mary Smith Kelsey PeakeBorn a free person in Norfolk in 1823, Mary Peake devoted her life to the education and betterment of African Americans. About 1850, she founded the D... [click for more]
National Advisory Committee for AeronauticsThe National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was established by Congress in 1915 to 'upervise and direct the scientific study of the pr... [click for more]
Old Point Comfort LightThe 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 ... [click for more]
PhoebusSettled as Mill Creek and Strawberry Banks by English Colonists, the Town of Phoebus was Roseland Farm until 1871 when it was divided into lots and be... [click for more]
PhoebusSettled as Mill Creek and Strawberry Banks by English Colonists, the Town of Phoebus was Roseland Farm until 1871 when it was divided into lots and be... [click for more]
Sack of HamptonAs British Gen. Sidney Beckwith dispersed the local militia on 25 June 1813, Adm. Sir George Cockburn feigned an attack with barges at the mouth of th... [click for more]
The Hampton Indian ProgramHampton Institute began the Hampton Indian Program to “christianize and civilize” American Indians. The first students arrived at the Inst... [click for more]
The Zero Mile PostThis 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... [click for more]
War of 1812 Military LegacyAfter damaging British coastal attacks during the War of 1812, Pres. James Madison recognized the need to improve the nation's coastal defense an... [click for more]
William ClaiborneNearby, William Claiborne (1600-1677) built a warehouse about 1631 to support his trading post on Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay. When Maryland seized ... [click for more]
Wythe’s BirthplaceEight miles north George Wythe, Revolutionary leader and Signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born, 1726.... [click for more]
