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What is Hampton Roads . . . ?
You probably
can't imagine your next home without thinking about your new neighbors,
friendships, or your child's new school. This is why it is important to
find a Realtor who is not only knowledgeable about real estate, but is
also a member of the community in which they sell homes. Hampton Roads is
my community and I am very proud to be a part of it. Though the Hampton
Roads, Tidewater area has many attractive features and forms of
entertainment, the most impressive
aspect is the community itself. I know you and your Family will enjoy all
Hampton Roads has to offer as much as we do!
Hampton Roads is the world's larges naval base. You cannot live in Hampton
Roads without being minutes from a naval installation. The Navy owns
36,000 acres and more than 6,750 buildings in the area. There are some
108,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel stationed in the area, and the
Navy employs more than 41,000 civilians. There are more than 23,000
retired Navy men and women living in Hampton Roads, and approximately
118,300 dependents of active duty, and civilian personnel. The total
Hampton Roads Navy community numbers some 318,000 people. There is a large
military presence in Hampton Roads, with each branch of the armed forces
represented, pumping over $11 billion into the local economy annually.
The southeastern part of the state of Virginia is known as Hampton Roads. In 1983 Hampton Roads became the official name for the region, unifying the Southside (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth) and the Peninsula (Hampton and Newport News). This area includes the cities of Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Newport News. The Hampton Roads Area is defined as all Navy/Marine Corps Activities in Virginia south of 38 N latitude and east of Interstate-95 (including bisected cities). Hampton Roads history began in 1607 when the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery landed on the south shore of the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry, located at the Army’s Fort Story. Nearby Jamestown was established by Captain John Smith that same year, the first permanent English settlement in America. Now, Norfolk is home to the world’s largest Naval Base.
The term "Hampton Roads" is a centuries-old reference that originated when the region was a struggling British outpost nearly 400 years ago. Designated in the 17th Century as the name of the largest natural harbor where the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth Rivers pour into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Hampton Roads honors one of the founders of the Virginia Company and a great supporter of the colonization of Virginia, Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl of Southampton. Signifying the safety of a port, "roads" in nautical terminology means "a place less sheltered than a harbor where ships may ride at anchor."
Since 1983, Hampton Roads has been recognized by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as a group of communities having economic and social integration. At that time, the two areas that constitute Hampton Roads - South Hampton Roads and the Virginia Peninsula - were combined to form the Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hampton Roads has grown from just over one million residents and the nations 34th largest market in 1983 to the country's 28th largest metro area with over 1.4 million people.
The first British colony in the New World was established at Jamestown in 1607 in the western area of Hampton Roads. As the colonists explored the area, they discovered the Sewell's Point area of Norfolk and in 1620 the first shipyard in Hampton Roads was opened. The shipbuilding industry, the British Navy and merchant ships from around the world made Hampton Roads' ports a center of trade, transportation and military activity. During the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, Hampton Roads area ports proved to be of invaluable strategic importance. During the Civil War, the site of the battle of the Monitor and Merrimack occurred off of the Northwest corner of the city known as Sewell's Point. Established in 1917 on 474 acres of land on Sewell's Point, Norfolk Naval Station and Norfolk Naval Air Station, together with numerous other related facilities in the area, have become the largest naval complex in the world. The complex consists of 36,000 acres of land and 6,750 buildings within a 50 mile radius of the base.
Hampton Roads is a natural tidal basin formed by the confluence of the James and Elizabeth Rivers. The deep draft entrance to Hampton Roads passes between Old Point Comfort and Fort Wool. Not only is Hampton Roads the gateway to the Naval Station, but it also provides access to commercial and Naval activities at Norfolk and Portsmouth on the Elizabeth River, extensive shipbuilding and cargo handling facilities at Newport News, and many smaller facilities and marinas along the James and Elizabeth Rivers.
Hampton Roads is composed of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Yorktown and Virginia Beach. Also included are the counties of Isle of Wight, James City, Surrey, and York. Each of these entities shares one principal bond: their close association to the water and the harbor called Hampton Roads. The Center of Hampton Roads lies about ninety miles southeast of Richmond. To the north are Washington, DC (185 miles), Baltimore (210 miles) and New York City (330 miles). Norfolk is about eighteen miles from the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads Harbor. Norfolk serves as the nucleus for the metropolitan area of more than a million people.
There are a number of Naval commands in the Hampton Roads area, including the Naval Station Norfolk; Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth; Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic, Dam Neck; Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek; and Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown; Naval Air Station, Norfolk; Naval Air Station, Oceana. Located at these installations are hundreds of commands, large and small, afloat and shore.
The Port of Hampton of Roads has become known as the "world's greatest natural harbor". The port is located only 18 miles from open ocean on one of the world's deepest, natural ice-free harbors. Since 1989, Hampton Roads has been the mid-Atlantic leader in U.S. waterborne foreign commerce and is ranked second nationally behind the Port of South Louisiana based on export tonnage. When import and export tonnage are combined, the Port of Hampton Roads ranks as the third largest port in the country (following the ports of New Orleans/South Louisiana and Houston. In 1996, Hampton Roads was ranked ninth among major U.S. ports in vessel port calls with approximately 2,700. In addition, this port is the U.S. leader in coal exports. The coal loading facilities in the Port of Hampton Roads are able to load in excess of 65 million tons annually, giving the port the largest, most efficient and modern coal loading facilities in the world.
Magnificent waterways, a pleasant climate and rich natural resources greeted the English settlers whose Jamestown colony put down roots from which sprang what is now recognized as the naval capital of the world. After landing at Cape Henry in April 1607, the colonists sailed up the James River to open England’s first permanent colony in the New World. Further exploration opened up the Sewells Point area of Norfolk, and in 1620, the first shipyard in Hampton Roads started operation. The shipbuilding industry, the British Navy, and merchant ships from around the world soon made the Hampton Roads area a center of trade, transportation and military activity.