Norfolk is an independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Norfolk had a population of 238,005, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and the 94th-largest city in the nation. Norfolk holds a strategic position as the historical, urban, financial, and cultural center of the Hampton Roads region, which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the 37th-largest metropolitan area in the US, with ten cities.
Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is the 9th-most populous city in Virginia and is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority African American. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes. The city is 21 miles (34 km) south of the commonwealth (state) capital city of Richmond.
Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th-most populous city in the United States.
Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located 16 miles (26 km) north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,565, up from 7,225 at the 2010 census.
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the Lower Peninsula to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the north, the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck.
U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once again. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. It goes through the cities and towns of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Petersburg, Farmville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Tazewell, and Grundy, in Virginia; Princeton and Bluefield in West Virginia; and Pikeville, Georgetown, and Frankfort in Kentucky.
South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA, which itself has a population of 1,724,876.
The history of Virginia Beach, Virginia, goes back to the Native Americans who lived in the area for thousands of years before the English colonists landed at Cape Henry in April 1607 and established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown a few weeks later. The Colonial Virginia period extended until 1776 and the American Revolution, and the area has been part of the Commonwealth of Virginia ever since.
The history of Norfolk, Virginia as a modern settlement begins in 1636. The city formally was incorporated in 1736. The city was burned by orders of the outgoing Virginia governor Lord Dunmore in 1776 during the second year of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), although it was soon rebuilt.
Downtown Norfolk serves as the traditional center of commerce, government, and culture in the Hampton Roads region. Norfolk, Virginia's downtown waterfront shipping and port activities historically played host to numerous and often noxious port and shipping-related uses. With the advent of containerized shipping in the mid-19th century, the shipping uses located on Norfolk's downtown waterfront became obsolete as larger and more modern port facilities opened elsewhere in the region. The vacant piers and cargo warehouses eventually became a blight on downtown and Norfolk's fortunes as a whole. But in the second half of the century, Norfolk had a vibrant retail community in its suburbs; companies like Smith & Welton, High's, Colonial Stores, Goldman's Shoes, Lerner Shops, Hofheimer's, Giant Open Air, Dollar Tree and K & K Toys were regional leaders in their respective fields. Norfolk was also the birthplace of Econo-Travel, now Econo Lodge, one of the nation's first discount motel chains.
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church is a historic church in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The Nave of the current church was built in 1739 and is the sole colonial-era building which survived the various wars that Norfolk has witnessed. The church has played host to several different denominations throughout its history. Originally a Church of England parish, the building was home to a Baptist parish in the early-19th century and was finally converted back into an Episcopal church.
Arthur Frederick Ostrander, Sr., was an assistant scientist. He worked with inventor George Poe. In his childhood he worked with Poe, who taught him how an artificial respiration device functions. His assistance to Poe was instrumental in the successful development of the respiration device, as he performed the fine detail work and metal fabrication that Poe could no longer do. His face came to be one of the most well known of the time, having been featured in several large circulation newspapers.
Esmont is a census-designated place (CDP) in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 Census was 491.
Donald McCall "Mac" Brunson is an American Baptist minister who was the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) megachurch. Previously, he served as senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and in 2018 took over as the senior pastor of Birmingham, Alabama's Valleydale Church.
Bethany Baptist Church of South Norfolk, Virginia is a prominent Black church in Hampton Roads, Virginia, USA. Founded in the late 1950s to early 1960s, it has since had a major influence on the local black community and others. It has become one of the largest churches in the Hampton Roads area.
The Brookland Park Historic District is a national historic district located at Richmond, Virginia. The district encompasses 1,157 contributing buildings located north of downtown Richmond and Barton Heights.
Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church is the second oldest Black congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1834 and originally known as Davis Chapel, it has served a mostly Black community for almost two centuries. It is a member of the United Methodist Church.
