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Virginia Peninsula: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Geographic Formation And Boundaries —
Virginia Peninsula.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 8
The Virginia Peninsula is the natural landform located in southeast Virginia outlined by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the Lower Peninsula to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the north, the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck. The land portion of Hampton Roads has been historically divided into two regions, the Virginia Peninsula or Peninsula on the north side, and South Hampton Roads on the south side. Locally, South Hampton Roads is commonly called "the Southside", but this is not to be confused with "Southside Virginia", a separate region of the south central portion of Virginia located farther inland. More recently, the boundaries of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area have expanded to include the two southernmost counties of the Middle Peninsula (Gloucester and Matthews), across the York River from the Virginia Peninsula.
Spanish Exploration And Early Settlements
Early in the 16th century, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to see the Chesapeake Bay, which they called Bahía de Madre de Dios or Bahía de Santa Maria. They were searching for the Northwest Passage to India and the Orient. They named the land now known as Virginia, as Ajacán. The Spanish succeeded in founding a colonial settlement in the New World in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida. It was the first founded by Europeans in what is now the United States. They established small Spanish outposts along the eastern coast into present-day Georgia and the Carolinas. The northernmost post was Santa Elena (today Port Royal, South Carolina). From there Juan Pardo was commissioned to lead expeditions into the interior, founding Fort San Juan in 1567, 1568 at the regional Mississippian culture chiefdom of Joara. Located in present-day western North Carolina, this was the first European settlement in the interior of North America.
English Colonization And Revolutionary History
The first permanent English settlement in North America was established in 1607 at Jamestown. The first continuously occupied settlement was at Kecoughtan in Elizabeth City County what is now the City of Hampton. Nearby, Fort Monroe, formerly the country's oldest military base still in use, is located at Old Point Comfort. Old Point Comfort is also the site of the first landing of Africans in America, in 1619. After declaring independence from Great Britain, Virginia's first state capital was Williamsburg. Also, the decisive battle of the American Revolution, the siege of Yorktown in 1781, took place on the Virginia Peninsula.
Civil War Campaigns And Ironclad Battles
During the American Civil War (1861, 1865), the Union Army invaded the Virginia Peninsula as part of the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 to capture Richmond, beginning from Fort Monroe at the entrance to Hampton Roads, which had remained in Union control after Virginia seceded in 1861. At the outset of the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Hampton Roads between the first ironclad warships took place near the mouth of the James River off the eastern tip of Warwick County. The 1862 Siege of Yorktown took place along the York River. Finally, after a lengthy standoff, the largest Union Army of the war under General George B. McClellan chased the retreating Confederates through the Williamsburg Line and westward literally to the "Gates of Richmond", where the swampy upper reaches of the Chickahominy River created a natural barrier behind which the defenders successfully held the Confederate capital, essentially prolonging the war for three more devastating years.
Industrial Growth And Railroad Development
As the region and Virginia rebuilt during Reconstruction, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) under the leadership of Collis P. Huntington was completed from Richmond to the Ohio River by 1871. Long a dream of Virginians, and later sponsored by both Virginia and West Virginia, the new railroad opened paths to ship products west, as well as offering an economically viable method of shipping the rich bituminous coal of the region to fuel the Industrial Revolution. However, the tidal portion of the James River, while navigable from Hampton Roads to the Fall Line at Richmond, couldn't accommodate the deep drafts of collier ships. The Peninsula had been long without a railroad, which had been newly developing technology beginning in the 1830s. In 1881, the Peninsula Extension of the C&O was built from Richmond through Williamsburg to Newport News Point. There, Collis Huntington, his associates, and his Old Dominion Land Company developed his vision for the area. Within only 15 years, a rural farm community in Warwick County turned into the new independent city of Newport News, Virginia, by 1896 as new coal piers brought ships to what would become the world's largest shipyard, Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.
Military Expansion And Community Displacement
In James City County, Toano became a major shipping point for the area's truck farming and an entire new development planned by a C&O land agent to attract farmers of Scandinavian descent from the colder regions of the American Mid-West emerged at Norge shortly after the start of the 20th century. Later in the first half of the 20th century, especially during the two world wars, massive military facilities were established on large reservations which today contain Langley Air Force Base, Fort Eustis, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, and Camp Peary. To make way, all of Mulberry Island and entire communities including Lackey, Halstead's Point, Penniman, Bigler's Mill, and Magruder disappeared in the process. However, many of the displaced Virginians chose to relocate to Grove in James City County and other areas close by on the Peninsula.
Colonial Restoration And Tourism Economy
After the capital of Virginia moved to Richmond in 1780 for greater security during the American Revolutionary War, Williamsburg became much less busy. By the early 20th century, it was described as a "sleepy little hamlet", known best for the College of William and Mary and Eastern State Hospital, which was the successor to the country's first mental hospital, as well as its fading memories and deteriorating colonial sites. All that changed dramatically beginning in 1926. The restoration and recreation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest historic restorations ever undertaken, was championed by the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin and the patriarch of the Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller Jr., along with the active participation of his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who wanted to celebrate the patriots and the early history of the United States. The restoration of the colonial capital, construction of the Colonial Parkway by the U.S. National Park Service, several major enhancements at Jamestown and Yorktown, and development of several theme parks such as Busch Gardens Williamsburg beginning in the 1970s, all combined to help make the Historic Triangle area of Colonial Virginia become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States by the end of the 20th century.
Modern Governance And Infrastructure Networks
In Colonial times, and even in the first 150 years of the United States, much like Virginia as a whole, the Virginia Peninsula was in an almost constant state of change in terms of local government, largely due to growth, as counties were divided and towns were formed as the population grew. Some towns grew to become cities. Under the state constitutional changes in 1871, extant and future cities in Virginia became independent cities of the counties they had formerly been located within. However, in the second half of the 20th century, an unprecedented wave of city-county-town local government consolidations took place in South Hampton Roads and on the Virginia Peninsula. Nowhere else in Virginia have rural areas and more dense cities been combined in such a manner as these two areas. The changes resulted in the two areas having Virginia's cities with the largest land areas and the most farming, even over 30 years after the consolidations in some instances. The Virginia Peninsula subregion includes four independent cities (Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg) and two counties (James City County and York County). There are currently no incorporated towns. Generally surrounded by water, the Virginia Peninsula is linked to other areas across the surrounding water barriers of the James and York Rivers, and the harbor of Hampton Roads by 2 bridge, tunnels, 2 large drawbridges, and a state-operated ferry system.
What is the Virginia Peninsula and where is it located?
The Virginia Peninsula is a natural landform in southeast Virginia outlined by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads, and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the Lower Peninsula to distinguish it from the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck.
When was the first permanent English settlement established on the Virginia Peninsula?
The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown in 1607. The first continuously occupied settlement was at Kecoughtan in Elizabeth City County which is now the City of Hampton.
Where did the decisive battle of the American Revolution take place on the Virginia Peninsula?
The decisive battle of the American Revolution, the siege of Yorktown in 1781, took place on the Virginia Peninsula. This event occurred after the Union Army invaded the region during the Civil War as part of the Peninsula Campaign in 1862.
How did the Virginia Peninsula develop into Newport News between 1881 and 1896?
In 1881 the Peninsula Extension of the C&O Railway was built from Richmond through Williamsburg to Newport News Point. Within only 15 years a rural farm community in Warwick County turned into the new independent city of Newport News by 1896 when coal piers brought ships to what became the world's largest shipyard.
What major military facilities were established on the Virginia Peninsula during the 20th century?
During the two world wars massive military facilities were established including Langley Air Force Base Fort Eustis Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Camp Peary. These developments required the disappearance of communities such as Lackey Halsteads Point Penniman Biglers Mill and Magruder.