Newport News is an independent city in Virginia. It is located on Hampton Roads’ harbor on the north shore of the James River on the southwestern end of the Virginia Peninsula. It extends southeast of Skiffe’s Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river’s mouth at Newport News Point.
Newport News was a part of Warwick County, one of the eight original shires of Virginia established by King Charles I in 1634 by order of the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia. In the county’s early days, most of the land was farms and undeveloped.
At the turn of the 20th Century, leaders of the community and shipyard were virtually interchangeable. Walter A. Post was the first mayor of the newly incorporated city, elected in 1898 after being initially appointed by the legislature. He had come to the area as one of the builders of the C&O Railway’s terminals. In 1911, he became president of the shipyard, serving until his death on Feb. 12, 1912.
These fascinating vintage photos will take you back to the 1900s Newport News.
