The city of Hampton is not a part of any specific county in Southeast Virginia and thus is considered to be an independent city. Based on the last census, the population is 137,436. Situated on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, Hampton is among the 7 major cities that comprise the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
The city of Hampton is situated on the Hampton Roads Beltway and is home to the HRBT or the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel situated on Interstate 64. This particular bridge-tunnel serves as the gateway to Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern United States and its tributary rivers. It was initially opened in the year 1957 and was the first bride-tunnel within the world. This particular gateway is the biggest ice-free harbor within the US. The HRBT was expanded in the 1970s. Even today, this particular facility is the deepest and the busiest within the state of Virginia.
Hampton traces its origins back to the early part of the 1600s and is considered to be amongst the earliest settlements in the United States. Before the Civil War, Hampton was a quiet trading post. The area became in the middle of the conflict when in the year 1861, the Confederate army burned it to the ground, to try and stop Union troops from taking over the township. Out of the remains left afterwards, former slaves who were under a degree of Union protection, built the Grand Contraband Camp. This camp was the first self-contained African American settlement in the United States.
In the year 1952, Hampton received city status after a municipal consolidation. This consolidation resulted in Hampton incorporating the boundaries of a region previously referred to as Elizabeth City County.
There is a huge variety of things to do and see within Hampton. The area consists of a large variety of recreational, historical and cultural attractions. Like for example, The Virginia Air & Space Center is the official visitor center for NASA's Langley Research Center. Tourists can enjoy a virtual reality video on the pioneers of flying in a state-of-the-art set up. They can also see the Apollo 12 Command Capsule that went to the moon.
The Hampton University Museum is situated on amongst the oldest African-American universities in the US. Originally, the University was the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Their objective was to educate black men and women who were set free and teach them skills and trades after the Civil War ended. Moreover, the location is the place where the Emancipation Proclamation was read by Lincoln and is referred to as Emancipation Oak.
The Hampton History Museum, situated in the downtown center, offers the history of the city. There are lots of costumed interpreters their to re-enact exhibits, helping to give significance and context to the exhibits. One more famous attraction is the Casemate Museum situated at Fort Monroe. This is the largest stone fort ever to be constructed within the nation. The Museum is amongst the major attractions and chronicles the role of the Fort during the Civil War. It also contains the cell which imprisoned Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President.
Another downtown place is the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center. This structure was constructed in 1925 and served as the public library for Hampton for more than 60 years. The structure has undergone significant restoration and renovation. Nowadays, it presents changing exhibits of the best local, regional and national artists.