In 1607, three ships carrying over a hundred adventurers from England crossed the Atlantic, not knowing what they would find on the other side. After landing at Cape Henry, in what is today Virginia Beach, they set out to explore the surrounding rivers and bays. They mapped and chronicled their discoveries as they made their way inland, eventually settling at Jamestown, Virginia. There they built the first permanent English settlement in the New World.

From Jamestown they would branch out to other areas of southeastern Virginia, creating towns, counties and cities, and in the process becoming Hampton Roads first regional citizens and establishing Hampton Roads as America’s First Region.

The term ‘Hampton Roads’ is a centuries-old reference that originated when the region was a struggling British outpost nearly 400 years ago. Designated in the 17th century as the name of the largest natural harbor where the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth Rivers pour into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Signifying the safety of a port, "roads" in nautical terminology means "a place less sheltered than a harbor where ships may ride at anchor".

The region’s most notable geographic characteristic is proximity to a variety of waterways. Bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton Roads is where the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers pour into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. 

With the world’s largest natural harbor, Hampton Roads’ ports have played an important role in the region’s history and economy.
Hampton Roads is ranked the 31st largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States. The region encompasses two areas linked by the Hampton Roads and the Virginia Peninsula. The South Hampton Roads region includes the cities of Chesapeake,    Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.
These cities are often referred to as the Tidewater area. The Peninsula consists of the cities of Hampton , Newport News, Poquoson and Williamsburg and the counties of Gloucester, James City,, and York.

Williamsburg, James City County, and York County are often referred to as the Historic Triangle because they played host to many important events in American history. In 1992, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and Currituck County, North Carolina were added to the MSA due to commuting patterns between the two counties and the existing MSA      Smithfield, Southampton, and Surry round out the region.

To call Hampton Roads rich in history is perhaps the greatest understatement.  General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781, in the last major engagement of the American Revolutionary War. The Civil War battle of the ironclads, the Confederate Merrimac and Union Monitor, occurred in the waters of Hampton Roads on March 8-9, 1862, changing forever the nature of naval warfare. Colonial Williamsburg has been described as the world’s largest living museum, and is perhaps the nation’s premier educational and historical resource on early American life.

Unlike many of the metropolitan areas across the country, Hampton Roads’ population is not centered in one city, but spread broadly throughout the region.

Hampton Roads is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the southeastern United States, and the largest between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. Hampton Roads’ labor force surpasses 750,000 and unemployment averages between 4 and 5 percent. Over 15,000 highly-skilled workers exit the military in Hampton Roads each year and the region is home to over 70,000 university and community college students. The military, manufacturing, the Port of Virginia, high technology, and tourism are major drivers in Hampton Roads’ $54 billion economy.
The military has long been a mainstay of the Hampton Roads economy, and today the region boasts the largest concentration of military personnel in the nation, with forces stationed at such critical defense facilities as Naval Station Norfolk (the largest naval facility in the world), Langley Air Force Base, Oceana Naval Air Station, Little Creek Amphibious Base, Fort Eustis, Fort Monroe, and Fort Story, and more. Total military and civilian defense-related employment in Hampton Roads surpasses 111,000.

Hampton Roads is rich, too, in intellectual resources. The region is home to eight colleges and universities and two federal laboratori
es: The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, a U.S. Department of Energy facility that conducts basic and applied atomic research, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Langley Research Center, an 800-acre facility conducting research in aviation and space sciences.

A pre-eminent maritime center, the region is thoroughly entwined and proudly identified with the water, included 26 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Chesapeake Bay, and a host of picturesque rivers and inlets. Hampton Roads is blessed with environmental assets, as well, including First Landing State Park, False Cape State Park, the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge, to name a few.

Whether you are visiting the area, considering a move here or already reside here, we encourage you to take advantage of all Hampton Roads has to offer.

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