Newport News Point
… Named in His Honor
Preface: Newport News was a small community located in Warwick County until late in the 19th century. Established as a town in 1880, it was incorporated as a city in 1896. Warwick County, one of the eight original Virginia shires formed by 1634, became extinct in 1952 when it was designated the city of Warwick. It merged with Newport News in 1958.
In 1606, the Virginia Company of London received a charter from King James I to settle Virginia. The company selected Captain Christopher Newport to command the expedition. For more than fifteen years, Newport had served as a privateer in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean preying on Spanish merchant ships. In 1592, Newport captured one vessel that contained 500 tons of spices and treasure. He even brought back from one of his expeditions two baby crocodiles and a wild boar for James I. Thus, the London Company members were impressed by the English Sea Dog’s reputation.
The expedition sailed from England on December 20, 1606. After long delays and unfavorable winds, the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery arrived off Chesapeake Capes with 143 English settlers. They landed at Cape Henry on April 26, 1607. Several days later the settlers moved inland and explored the surrounding area for water and future habitation. Newport’s party landed near this site, which was later named in his honor. The English continued their journey upriver and established the Jamestown settlement. This area was inhabited later in the seventeenth century and remained agricultural until the industrial growth of the 1880s.
Marker can be reached from West Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
