Editing Newport News, Virginia (section)

===Build-up to Incorporation===
[[File:Lee Hall.jpg|thumb|[[Lee Hall, Virginia|Lee Hall]], built in 1859 by Richard Lee]]
Newport News was a rural area of plantations and a small fishing village until after the [[American Civil War]]. The area that formed the present-day southern end of Newport News had long been established as an unincorporated town. After [[Reconstruction era in the United States|Reconstruction]] (the period after the American Civil War) the new City of Newport News was essentially founded by California merchant [[Collis P. Huntington]]. Huntington, one of the [[Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)|Big Four]] associated with the [[Central Pacific Railroad]], in California, formed the western part of the country's [[First transcontinental railroad]]. He was recruited by former [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] General [[Williams Carter Wickham]] to become a major investor and guiding light for a southern railroad. He helped complete the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] to the [[Ohio River]] in 1873.<ref>[http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/vt/viblbv00240.bioghist "Collis Huntington"], University of Virginia Library website; accessed July 24, 2015.</ref> 

Huntington knew the railroad could transport coal eastbound from West Virginia's untapped natural resources. His agents began acquiring land in Warwick County in 1865. In the 1880s, he oversaw extension of the C&O's new [[Peninsula Subdivision]], which extended from the [[Church Hill Tunnel]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] southeast down the peninsula through [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] to Newport News, where the company developed [[coal pier]]s on the harbor of Hampton Roads.<ref>[http://www.cohs.org Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society]; accessed April 3, 2008.</ref>On October 19, 1881, the first train to ever depart from Newport News left [[Lee Hall Depot]] on temporary tracks and arrived at [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]] for the 'Cornwallis Surrender Centennial Celebration", a commemoration of the British defeat at the [[Battle of yorktown|Battle of Yorktown]].<ref>Lash Jester, Annie (1961). Newport News Virginia, 1607-1960. City of Newport News.</ref>

His next project was to develop [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Chesapeake Dry Dock & Construction Company]], known from 1890 as the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. The shipbuilding was originally intended to build boats to transition goods from the rails to the seas, but would quickly grow from additional work from the US Navy, including building the two [[Kearsarge-class battleship|Kearsarge class]] battleships and the [[USS Illinois (BB-7)]] by 1900.  With time, it would become the world's largest shipyard.

Construction of the railroad and establishment of the great shipyard brought thousands of workers and associated development.  A rapid building boom occurred, including [[Hotel Warwick]], [[First Baptist Church (Newport News, Virginia)|churches]], a [[Daily Press (Virginia)|newspaper]], banks, and a courthouse. From 1888 to 1896, the county seat of [[Warwick County, Virginia]] was moved to Newport News area, reflecting the growing importance of the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discoverourtown.com/VA/local-54079.html |title=Old Warwick County Courthouse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620081444/http://www.discoverourtown.com/VA/local-54079.html |archive-date=June 20, 2008 |work=Discover Our Town |access-date=April 25, 2008}}</ref> On January 16, 1896 Newport News incorporated as an [[Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities|independent city]], fully separate of Warwick County.<ref name=VFH-cities>{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Cities_of_Virginia |title=Cities of Virginia: Newport News |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia Virginia |publisher=[[Virginia Foundation for the Humanities]] |location=Charlottesville |access-date=May 11, 2017 }}</ref><ref name=ODLCrecords /> It was one of only a few cities in Virginia to be newly established without earlier incorporation as a town. (Virginia has had an [[independent city (United States)|independent city]] political subdivision since 1871.) [[Walter A. Post]] served as the city's first mayor.<ref name="nntimeline">{{cite web|title=Newport News History Timeline |url=http://www.nngov.com/library/nnhistory |website=Newport News Public Library System |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714190229/http://www.nngov.com/library/nnhistory |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |access-date=April 3, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>