Newport News (pop. 186,247) is a shipbuilding center in eastern Virginia. It lies on the north shore of the harbor called Hampton Roads. See Hampton Roads. Newport News is in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,780,059.
Newport News Shipbuilding is Virginia’s largest private employer. It operates one of the largest privately owned shipyards in the world. The city of Newport News is a large coal-exporting center. Other industries include seafood processing and the manufacture of automotive parts, electronic components, escalators, laser printers, and photocopiers. Newport News is the home of the Mariners’ Museum.
Newport News was named for Captain Christopher Newport, who led a group of colonists to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. He reportedly brought news that more colonists were on the way. Although settlement began in Newport News around 1620, the area did not develop as a city until the railroad arrived in 1881. Newport News merged with Warwick and took over Warwick County in 1958. It has a council-manager form of government.
