Hampton, Virginia

Hampton is an independent city in the Commonwealth Virginia which consists of 136 square miles of land and water. In 2013 the population was 136,699 and the Median Household Income was $39,532. One of the seven major cities that comprise the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it sits on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula.

Hampton traces its history to the city’s Old Point Comfort, the home of Fort Monroe for almost 400 years. This strategic point of land was named by the 1607 voyagers who first established Jamestown as an English colonial settlement. Hampton was the center of English admiralty law for hundreds of years in the original colonies of The New World.

After the end of the American Civil War, historic Hampton University was established opposite the town on the Hampton River providing an education for many newly-freed slaves and for area’s Native Americans. In the 20th century, the area became the location of Langley Air Force Base, NASA Langley Research Center, and the Virginia Air and Space Center. Hampton has many miles of waterfront and beachfront properties.

Development of new residential and additional public facilities (such as the new fishing pier recently opened) at Buckroe Beach add to the attractions in Hampton, along with Fort Monroe which was recently designated a U.S. National Park.

Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, the city hosts the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) on Interstate 64. First opened in 1957, it was the world’s first bridge-tunnel crossing the mouth of the Hampton Roads harbor and serves as the gateway to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.