Timeline of Newport News, Virginia explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Newport News, Virginia, United States.

19th century

• 1862 – Naval Battle of Hampton Roads fought near Newport News village during the American Civil War.
• 1880 – Old Dominion Land Company created by Collis Potter Huntington "to secure railway right-of-ways" on the Virginia Peninsula.^[1]
• 1882 – Chesapeake and Ohio Railway begins operating.
• 1883 – Hotel Warwick in business.^[2]
• 1884 – Courthouse built.
• 1886 – Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Company (later Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.) in business.
• 1888 – Warwick County seat moves temporarily to Newport News from Denbigh.
• 1889
  • Newport News Light & Water Company in business.
  • YMCA branch organized.
• 1890
  • Citizens Railway (Hampton-Newport News) begins operating.
  • Horse-drawn Newport News Street Railway begins operating (approximate date).
  • Population: 4,449.
• 1891
  • Courthouse built.
  • First National Bank established.^[3]
• 1894 – Adath Jeshurun synagogue built.^[4]
• 1896
  • January 16: City of Newport News incorporated, independent of Warwick County.^[5]
  • Daily Press newspaper begins publication.^[6]
  • Fire station built.^[7]
• 1897 – First Baptist Church rebuilt.
• 1900 – Population: 19,635.

20th century

• 1901 – Star and Times-Herald newspapers begin publication.
• 1904 – U.S. Custom House and Post Office built.
• 1906 – Buxton Hospital established.
• 1908
  • Virginia State School for Colored Deaf and Blind Children opens.
  • Chamber of Commerce formed.
• 1910 – Olympic Theatre in business.^[8]
• 1914 – Curtis Flying Field begins operating near Newport News.
• 1917
  • U.S. military Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation headquartered in Newport News during World War I.
  • U.S. War Department Camp Alexander, Camp Hill, and Camp Stuart begin operating in vicinity of Newport News (approximate date).
• 1918
  • Jefferson Avenue Park (housing) established.
  • U.S. military Camp Eustis (later Fort Eustis) begins operating near Newport News.
  • Influenza outbreak.
• 1919
  • Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company's Apprentice School established.
  • Hilton Village (housing) built.
  • Newport News Victory Arch erected.
• 1920
  • Council–manager form of government begins.
  • Philip W. Hiden becomes mayor.
• 1923 – WNEW radio begins broadcasting.
• 1924 – Collis P. Huntington High School built.
• 1927 – Kecoughtan becomes part of Newport News.
• 1928
  • James River Bridge opens.
  • WGH (AM) radio begins broadcasting.
• 1929 – Newport News Public Library built.
• 1930
  • Dodge Boat & Plane Co. in business.^[9]
  • Mariners' Museum founded.
• 1932 – James River Country Club founded.
• 1933
  • August 23: Hurricane.
  • U.S. military aircraft carrier launched at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.^[10]
• 1937 – Aberdeen Gardens (housing) built in nearby Hampton for shipworkers.
• 1942 – U.S. military Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation headquartered in Newport News during World War II.
• 1945 – Citizens Rapid Transit Co. founded.
• 1946 – Electric streetcar stops operating.
• 1947 – WTID radio begins broadcasting.
• 1949 – Patrick Henry Airport begins operating.
• 1950 – Population: 42,358.
• 1952
  • Anchor Drive-In cinema in business.
  • Warwick County becomes the City of Warwick.
• 1954 – October 15: Hurricane Hazel occurs.
• 1956 – Newmarket Shopping Center in business.
• 1958 – July 1: City of Warwick consolidated into city of Newport News.
• 1959 – U.S. Army Transportation Museum established in nearby U.S. military Fort Eustis.
• 1960
  • Interstate 64 highway construction completed.
  • Population: 113,662.
• 1961 – Christopher Newport College opens.
• 1967 – Todd Stadium opens.
• 1968 – Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Hampton Roads branch formed.^[11]
• 1971 – September: School "court-ordered busing" begins.
• 1972 – City Hall built.
• 1975 – Newmarket North Mall in business.
• 1979 – September: Hurricane David occurs.^[12]
• 1980 – Population: 144,903.
• 1981 – Amtrak Newport News station built.
• 1982 – Virginia Port Authority's affiliate Virginia International Terminals begins operating the Newport News Marine Terminal.
• 1984 – U.S. Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (later Jefferson Lab) established.
• 1987 – Patrick Henry Mall in business.
• 1992
  • Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel opens.
  • Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport new terminal built.
• 1993 – Bobby Scott becomes U.S. representative for Virginia's 3rd congressional district.^[13]
• 1996
  • July: Hurricane Bertha occurs.
  • Warwick SRO housing created.
  • City website online (approximate date).^{[14] [15]}

21st century

• 2005 – Ferguson Center for the Arts opens.
• 2010
  • McKinley L. Price becomes mayor.
  • U.S. military Joint Base Langley–Eustis in operation near city.
  • Warwick County Historical Society active.^[16]
  • Population: 180,719 in city;^[17] 1,676,822 in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

See also

• History of Newport News, Virginia
• List of mayors of Newport News, Virginia
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport News, Virginia
• History of Hampton Roads area
• Timelines of other cities in Virginia: Alexandria, Hampton, Lynchburg, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, Roanoke, Virginia Beach

Bibliography

• • • 1917 ed.
• Book: Pen and Picture Sketches . Greater Newport News 'The Shipbuilding City' . Illustrated Cities . 1915 .
  • • Book: Alexander Crosby Brown . Newport News' 325 Years: A Record of the Progress of a Virginia Community . 6247364 . Newport News Golden Anniversary Corporation . 1946 .
  • Annie Lash Jester. Newport News, Virginia 1607–1960. Richmond: Whittet & Shepperson, 1961.
• Van Hawkings. Hampton/Newport News: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach: The Donning Company/Publishers, Inc, 1975.
  • Book: Parke Rouse, Jr. . Good Old Days in Hampton and Newport News . Richmond . Dietz Press . 13983158 . 1986 .
• John V. Quarstein and Parke S. Rouse Jr. Newport News: A Centennial History. Newport News: City of Newport News, 1996
• (Timeline)
• Book: Jane Carter Webb. Newport News. 2003 . Arcadia . 978-1-4396-2947-5 . Images of America.
• Book: Paul T. Hellmann. Historical Gazetteer of the United States. 2006. Taylor & Francis. 1-135-94859-3. Virginia: Newport News. .

External links

• Web site: Digital Archive . Newport News Public Library System . (Publications about Newport News)
• Web site: City of Newport News . . Richmond . County and City Records .
• Items related to Newport News, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Guide to the Old Dominion Land Company Records, 1828–1949 . Richmond . . May 12, 2017 .
2. Web site: Newport News . City or County Listings: Virginia Landmarks Register & National Register of Historic Places . . Richmond . May 12, 2017 .
3. Web site: Old Dominion Land Company and the Development of the City of Newport News . Newport News Public Library System . May 12, 2017 . Exhibit .
4. Encyclopedia: Newport News/Hampton, Virginia . Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities . . Jackson, Mississippi . May 12, 2017 .
5. Encyclopedia: Cities of Virginia: Newport News . Encyclopedia Virginia . . Charlottesville . May 11, 2017 .
6. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . . Library of Congress . May 11, 2017 .
7. Web site: Newport News Fire Department: History . Nnva.gov . City of Newport News . May 12, 2017 .
8. Web site: Movie Theaters in Newport News, VA . CinemaTreasures.org . Cinema Treasures LLC . Los Angeles . May 11, 2017 .
9. Book: Kenneth J. Blume. Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Maritime Industry. 2012. . Lanham, Maryland . 978-0-8108-7963-8.
10. Book: Ernie Gross. This Day in American History. registration. 1990. Neal-Schuman . 978-1-55570-046-1.
11. Web site: AAHGS-Hampton Roads . Newport News, VA . Blogspot . May 11, 2017 .
12. Web site: Hurricane History of Central and Eastern Virginia . . May 12, 2017 .
13. Book: Official Congressional Directory . Official Congressional Directory . Washington, D.C. . Government Printing Office . 1993 . Virginia . 1991/1992- : S. Pub. . 2027/uc1.l0072691827?urlappend=%3Bseq=348 . https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.l0072691827?urlappend=%3Bseq=348 . .
14. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19961224151110/http://www.newport-news.va.us/ . dead . City of Newport News . December 24, 1996 . .
15. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19990423131140/http://officialcitysites.org/virginia.htm . United States of America: Virginia . dead . April 23, 1999 . Official City Sites . Kevin Hyde . Tamie Hyde . Utah . 40169021 .
16. Web site: About . Newport News . Warwick County Historical Society . May 12, 2017 .
17. Web site: Newport News city, Virginia . QuickFacts . U.S. Census Bureau . May 11, 2017 .