Hampton, Virginia
Located on the southeastern tip of the Virginia peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay, Hampton is the oldest continuously settled English community in the United States. As an Indian village called Kecoughtan, it had been visited by the first English colonists before they sailed up the James River to settle in Jamestown.
In 1610 the construction of Fort Henry and Fort Charles at the mouth of Hampton Creek marked the beginnings of Hampton. In 1619, the settlers chose an English name for the community, Elizabeth City. The settlement was known as Hampton as early as 1680, and in 1705 Hampton was recognized as a town. The City of Hampton was first incorporated in 1849 and classified as a city of the second class in 1908. In 1952 Hampton, the independent town of Phoebus and Elizabeth City County, encompassing Buckroe and Foxhill, were consolidated under one municipal government and classified as city of the first class.
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