Newport News, Virginia | |
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 Flag  Seal | |
 Interactive map of Newport News | |
  Newport News  Newport News | |
| Coordinates: 37°4′15″N 76°29′4″W / 37.07083°N 76.48444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| Settled | 1691[1] |
| Incorporated | 1896 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Phillip Jones (D)[citation needed] |
| Area | |
| • Independent city | 119.62 sq mi (309.81 km2) |
| • Land | 68.99 sq mi (178.68 km2) |
| • Water | 50.63 sq mi (131.14 km2) 42.4% |
| Elevation | 15 ft (5 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Independent city | 186,247 |
| • Rank | 140th In the United States 5th In Virginia |
| • Density | 2,699.62/sq mi (1,042.33/km2) |
| • Urban | 1,439,666 |
| • Metro | 1,672,319 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 23601-23609 |
| Area code(s) | 757, 948 |
| FIPS code | 51-56000[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1497043[4] |
| Website | nnva.gov |
Newport News (/ˌnuːpɔːrt -, -pərt -/)[6] is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247.[5] Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city in the United States. The city is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the northern shore of the James River to the river's mouth on the harbor of Hampton Roads.
Most of the area now known as Newport News was once a part of Warwick County, one of the eight original shires of Virginia formed in the British Colony of Virginia by order of Charles I of England in 1634. Newport News was a rural area of plantations and a small fishing village until after the American Civil War. In 1881, fifteen years of rapid development began under the leadership of Collis P. Huntington, whose new Peninsula Extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway opened up means of transportation for the railroad to bring West Virginia bituminous coal to port for coastal shipping. Within a few years, Huntington and his associates also built a large shipyard. Newport News was incorporated in 1896, the new incorporated town. In 1958, by mutual consent by referendum, Newport News was consolidated with Warwick, rejoining the two localities to approximately their pre-1896 geographic size under the more widely-known name of Newport News.[7]
With many residents employed at the expansive Newport News Shipbuilding, the joint U.S. Air Force–Army installation at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, and other military bases and suppliers, the city's economy is very connected to the military. The location on the harbor and along the James River facilitates a large boating industry which can take advantage of its many miles of waterfront. Newport News also serves as a junction between the rails and the sea with the Newport News Marine Terminals located at the East End of the city. Served by major east–west Interstate Highway 64, it is linked to other cities of Hampton Roads by the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway, which crosses the harbor on two bridge-tunnels. Part of the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in the city limits.[citation needed]
- ^ Fox, William A. (2010). Images of America: Downtown Newport News. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-7385-8581-9. Retrieved November 3, 2018 – via Google Books.
Newport News was first settled in 1691, but was little more than farms until the late 1880s.
- ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". census.gov. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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