Hampton, Virginia (pop. 137,148), lies on a peninsula at the south end of Chesapeake Bay, across from Norfolk. Hampton is the home of Langley Air Force Base and a major research facility of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The defense and aerospace industries are the city’s largest employers. Hampton is also an important fishing port. Hampton University was founded there in 1868 as Hampton Institute. Settled in 1610, Hampton is the oldest town founded by the English still in existence in the United States. It has a council-manager government.
