The Dark House
Hampton
So, it seems you are a bit of a closet librarian. Here's that information you wanted about Hampton, Virginia, (courtesy of Microsoft (R) Encarta).
Hampton, independent city in
southeastern Virginia, a port on Hampton Roads opposite Norfolk. The city has large
fishing and seafood processing industries and contains some other manufacturing concerns.
In addition, tourism is important to Hampton's economy, as are Langley Air Force Base,
headquarters for the United States Tactical Air Command; the Langley Research Center of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and historic Fort Monroe
(1819-1834), now the headquarters of the U.S. Continental Army Command and during the
American Civil War (1861-1865) a strategic base for the Union Army and Navy. In the city
are Hampton University (1868), Saint John's Church (1728), and the Syms-Eaton Museum,
which honors Benjamin Syms and Thomas Eaton, who founded the first free schools in the
United States (1634, 1659).
A Native American village called Kecoughtan existed on this site. In 1609 the English
built Fort Algernourne (now Fort Monroe), and colonists from Jamestown settled there,
making Hampton one of the oldest English settlements in the United States still in
existence. The town was renamed in honor of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton,
who was a patron of letters and a member of the Virginia Company. In 1775, during the
early stages of the American Revolution (1776-1783), Hampton was pillaged by British
forces, and it was again partially destroyed by the British in 1813, during the War of
1812. In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, the community was burned by its own
inhabitants to prevent Union troops from occupying the site, and in 1862 the famous battle
of the ironclad ships, the Merrimack and the Monitor, took place offshore in Hampton
Roads. The city was incorporated in 1908, and in 1952 Hampton absorbed Elizabeth City
county and became an independent city. Population (1980) 122,617; (1990) 133,793.
"Hampton," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
Well, I hope that satisfies all you trivia freaks out there.
Last updated: 20.07.02
©2002 Dors Productions
