Spotlight on Norfolk, Virginia

Situated in the heart of the Hampton Roads region of Southern Virginia, Norfolk is the second largest city in the Commonwealth and is one of several cities that constitute the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News MSA. Norfolk itself is situated along a natural harbor on the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and has evolved into a major strategic military and shipping hub. The crown jewel of the area is Naval Station Norfolk, the largest Navy Base in the world and a primary economic driver of both the city and the state. Norfolk is additionally the oldest of the Hampton Roads cities and has been regarded as the historic, financial, and cultural center of the region.
Norfolk was founded in 1682 as the “Towne of Lower Norfolk County.” The city was originally bounded by the Elizabeth River to the east, west, and south and what is currently City Hall Avenue to the north. By the time of the American Revolution in 1775, the population had grown to 6,000 people and by 1800, Norfolk was the 8th largest town in America. The attack on the USS Chesapeake by British forces in 1807 was one of the factors that precipitated President Thomas Jefferson’s decision to petition Congress to declare war on Great Britain leading to the War of 1812. Subsequent events closed the port and brought economic activity in the region to a standstill. Norfolk entered the global stage in 1907 with the arrival of the Virginian Railway and the Jamestown Exposition, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first English settlement in the United States. Ten years later, the Expo grounds were transformed into the home of the U.S. Naval Operating Base, which has since become Naval Station Norfolk. The advent of two World Wars doubled the size of the city’s population.