“America’s First Region” is a region of firsts

World-Class Economy, Rooted in History

On April 26, 1607, 104 English explorers traveling on three tiny ships, the Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed, landed at what is today Virginia Beach. Eighteen days later, on May 14th, after exploring numerous rivers and bays in the region, they settled at Jamestown. Today, those two sites form the boundaries of the Hampton Roads region.

From their exploration was created the first permanent English settlement and the first representative government in America. These men were not only the first citizens of America, but the first regional citizens in Hampton Roads, our nation's starting point.

"HAMPTON ROADS" is one of the world’s biggest and deepest natural harbors, the largest in North America, and is home to the world’s largest naval base at Norfolk and the Port of Virginia, one of the busiest and fastest growing ports on the U.S. east coast with products popular the world over from Smithfield Hams to Suffolk’s Peanuts to Chesapeake Bay crabs and more.

"HAMPTON ROADS," the body of water, lies between the Virginia Peninsula (to the North) and Southside, in the southern part of southeastern Virginia and is formed by the confluence of the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers and flows into the Chesapeake Bay whose watershed covers 64,000 square miles and all or part of six states (NY, PA, WV, MD, DE and VA) and DC.

“America’s First Region” is a region of “firsts.” Our nation’s military defense and public education began here. The first law school, William & Mary in Williamsburg, and our system of justice and the first legislative assembly was built here. This is where Africans first became African-Americans. Space travel took its first small step here. And, the first U.S. in vitro fertilization was performed successfully at the Jones Institute, Eastern Virginia Medical School.

It is appropriate to dub Hampton Roads as “America’s First Region” for many reasons. “Firsts” from the 17th century alone include: creation of the first Protestant church in North America, establishment of the rule of law in North America, development of the first free enterprise system in the New World, the first political revolution (removal of Governor Sir John Harvey), the first armed rebellion against civil authority (Bacon’s Rebellion), and the first continuous English-speaking community established (Hampton).

Other “firsts” include: the first take-off of an airplane from a ship (USS Birmingham) in the Norfolk Navy Yard on November 14, 1910 and the nation's first civilian aeronautics lab (present day NASA Langley Research Center) where the original seven astronauts trained.

From advancing space exploration to retail development, from transportation infrastructure to academic research, people and institutions in Hampton Roads have accomplished many firsts over the centuries.