Historic Hampton

The Native American village of Kecoughtan stood across the Hampton River in 1607. Soon after the English forcibly removed the inhabitants in 1610, the colonists settled there and the village grew. By the early eighteenth century, the royal customhouse, wharves, warehouses, and taverns were located in the bustling seaport town of Hampton. In an early Revolutionary War engagement, militiamen repulsed a British naval attack against Hampton on 24 Oct. 1775. During the Revolution, Hampton was the home port of the Virginia State Navy. On 25 June 1813, during the War of 1812, the British sacked the town. Confederates burned it in Aug. 1861 to prevent its use by Union troops and slaves.