Communities

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Although Fairfax County is the most populous jurisdiction, Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia and the 41st largest city in the United States, with an estimated population of 440,415 in 2008.

Virginia Beach is the easternmost city of Hampton Roads that make up the core of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA. This area, known as “America’s First Region”, also includes the independent cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, as well as other smaller cities, counties and towns of Hampton Roads.

In 1963, the new independent city of Chesapeake was created when the former independent city of South Norfolk consolidated with Norfolk County. The consolidation, authorized by the Virginia General Assembly, was approved and the new name selected by the voters of each communities by referendum.

The City of Chesapeake, Virginia, is located at the mid-point of the East Coast of the United States, near the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.

Portsmouth is located on the western side of the Elizabeth River directly across from the City of Norfolk. In 1620, the future site of Portsmouth was recognized as suitable shipbuilding location by John Wood, a shipbuilder, who petitioned King James I of England for a land grant. The surrounding area was soon settled as a plantation community.

The Olde Towne section features one of the largest collections of historically significant homes between Alexandria, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina.[5] Also located in Olde Towne is Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), which was built by slaves and free men and is the second-oldest building in Portsmouth and the city’s oldest black church.

In 1619, the Governor for the Virginia Colony, Sir George Yeardley established four incorporations, termed citties, for the developed portion of the colony. These formed the basis for colonial representative government in the newly minted House of Burgesses. What would become Norfolk was put under the Elizabeth Cittie incorporation.

Norfolk has a variety of historic neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods, such as Berkley, were formerly cities and towns. Others, such as Willoughby Spit and Ocean View, have a long history tied to the Chesapeake Bay. Today neighborhoods such as Downtown and Ghent have transformed with the revitalization that the city has undergone.

Suffolk is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. By area, it is the largest city in the entire commonwealth. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 63,677. By 2009, the city’s population was estimated to have grown to 83,006, and its median household income was $57,546.

Suffolk was founded by English colonists in 1742 as a port town on the Nansemond River in the Virginia Colony. Originally known as Constant’s Warehouse, for John Constant, Suffolk was renamed after Royal Governor William Gooch’s home of Suffolk county in East Anglia in England.

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States. Hampton Roads is notable for its year-round ice-free harbor, for United States Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, NASA, Marines, and Army facilities, shipyards, coal piers, and hundreds of miles of waterfront property and beaches, all of which contribute to the diversity and stability of the region’s economy.

The water area known as Hampton Roads is one of the world’s biggest natural harbors (more accurately a roadstead or “roads”), and incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth River and James River with several smaller rivers and itself empties into the Chesapeake Bay near its mouth leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

Newport News’ great location and rich history, which begins shortly after the founding of Jamestown, has shaped the city into what it is today. Located on the banks of the Hampton Roads harbor in southeastern Virginia, Newport News is minutes from Williamsburg and a short drive to Virginia Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. From this central Tidewater location, you can experience the ocean, the ships, the history and the great outdoors.

Yorktown, named for the ancient city of York in Yorkshire, Northern England, was founded in 1691 as a port for shipping tobacco to Europe. The lawyer Thomas Ballard was the principal founder of the city along with Joseph Ring. It was called “York” until after the American Revolutionary War, when the name “Yorktown” came into common use.

The town reached the height of its success around 1750 when it had 250 to 300 buildings and a population of almost 2,000 people. It was the base of British General Charles Cornwallis during the 1781 siege, which was the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War.

Seaford is an unincorporated community in York County on the Virginia Peninsula.

Seaford is a mostly residential area and includes Seaford Road and the roads attached to it. There are different neighborhoods within Seaford, some of these include Port Meyers, Summerville, and Cheadle Loop.

It was the water that brought the first settlers to Poquoson. Though the water may still hold the spell over many a Poquoson resident today, Poquoson continues to attract new residents today for a variety of reasons. The City is in close proximity to major employment sites including military bases, NASA, and The Newport News Shipyard. Poquoson has a very low crime rate. The lack of serious crime is a testament to the sound values of Poquoson residents and the vigilance of the Poquoson Police Department. The Poquoson School System has consistently ranked among the best in the state. The City boasts a small town atmosphere with compatible neighbors who have a common interest in the well being of the City and their families.