Newport News was settled by Irish colonists around 1620 but did not see any growth until 1880, when it became the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad. In 1862, the famous battle between the ironclad ships Monitor and Merrimack was fought off the coast of Newport News. It was the first engagement of two such ships in history.

Nowadays, Newport News is a port for transatlantic and intracoastal shipping. Commodities handled in the city include coal, oil, tobacco, grain and ores. Newport News is also one of the largest shipbuilding and repair centers in the United States, Shipbuilding industry began there in 1886. The U.S.S. Enterprise II, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was constructed there.

Goods that are manufactured in Newport News include metal, paper, textile products, building materials, processed fish and seafood and electronic equipment. There are also oil refineries in the city.

The oldest parts of Newport News include:

• The shipyard and coal piers.
• Huntington Heights, or the North End, was mainly constructed between 1900 and 1935. It features numerous different architectural styles, as well as scenic views of the James River.
• After WWII, Lower income housing developments were built and became known as the East End, or The Bottom.
• The waterfront along the James River are occupied by high-end single family homes.

• The First Baptist Church is located in downtown Newport News.
• Fort Eustis includes the Matthew Jones House, which dates from 1660.
• Lee Hall Mansion is located in the community of Lee Hall, which was named after it. It is located in the northern portion of Newport News. The mansion was built in 1859 and it was named after its owner Richard Decatur Lee, who was a prominent local farmer.
• Little Seoul is an area in Newport News that is a small Korean ethnic enclave. It is centered on Warwick Boulevard in the north of the city.
• The Mariners Museum.
• The Peninsula Junior Nature Museum and Planetarium.
• The Victory Arch was originally erected in 1919 to commemorate WWI. It was rebuilt in 1962. The 'eternal flame' under the arch was hand-crafted at the Womack Foundry, Inc. and added in the 1960s.
• The War Memorial Museum of Virginia.

The city is also home to Christopher Newport College.

Accommodation and restaurants are available in town. Newport News is an independent city on the Virginia peninsula, at the mouth of the James River, off Hampton Roads and not far from Norfolk. Newport News is in the southeast of Virginia, at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. The city sits on the northern shore of the James River, 110 km southeast from Richmond and 220 km south from Washington D.C.

Newport News ©Watts