U.S. Destinations : Virginia : Tidewater / Hampton Roads : African American History
Virginia
Tidewater / Hampton Roads
African American History

African American Heritage Sites in Hampton
710 Settlers Landing Road
Hampton,  Virginia  23669
Phone: (757) 727-1102
Toll-Free: (800) 800-2202

Explore Hampton's rich African American heritage at more than a dozen sites. See "Freedom's Fortress," also known as Fort Monroe, where runaway slaves were protected during the Civil War. Or visit the Emancipation Oak where President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was first read to Hampton residents. Many of the sites are listed in the free Hampton Visitors Guide magazine, available at the Hampton Visitor Center.

Black Soldiers Memorial (Civ. War)
Princess Anne Rd.
Norfolk,  Virginia  23504
Phone: (757) 441-2576

This Civil War monument to honor African American Union soldiers is a rare find in the South -- this is the only one. A column is topped with a black yankee soldier, sometimes called "Billy Yank." Both Civil War and Spanish American War vets are buried here.

Colonial Williamsburg
1 Visitor Center Drive
Williamsburg,  Virginia  23185
Toll-Free: (800) HIS-TORY

Colonial Williamsburg, the nation's largest living history museum, consists of 301 acres encompassing 88 original buildings and hundreds of other homes, shops and public buildings. Colonial Williamsburg operates the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and Bassett Hall. Visitors can enjoy 18th-century style dining Colonial Williamsburg's four dining taverns -- Chowning's, Christiana Campbell's, Shields and King's Arms Tavern. Guest accommodations are available in Colonial Williamsburg's Hotels -- the world-class Williamsburg Inn, the Colonial Houses, the Williamsburg Lodge and Woodlands Hotel & Suites and the Governor's Inn. Call for a copy of our Vacation Planner.

Hampton History Museum
120 Old Hampton Lane
Hampton,  Virginia  23669
Phone: (757) 727-1610

Experience the historical excitement of "four centuries on the bay - from the seas to the starts." From Native Americans and the early colonists, a bustling port, the infamous Blackbeard, "contrabands" and the Civil War, the rise of "Crabtown USA", to modern Hampton. Guided tours provided through ten galleries of permanent and changing exhibits.

Site of Nat Turner Rebellion
Virginia

On August 21, 1831, the main action of this slave revolt took place in what is now called Courtland. Nat Turner, a legendary revolutionary, led the group which killed 60 whites before the militia brought it to a halt. Later, Turner was caught and hanged. All of the homes affected are under private ownership and not open to the public. Only the markers and the memories remain.

The Newsome House Museum & Cultural Center
2803 Oak Avenue
Newport News,  Virginia  23607
Phone: (757) 247-2360

The restored 1899 home of the African-American attorney J. Thomas Newsome and his wife Mary Winfield Newsome. He was a respected attorney, journalist, churchman and civic leader and a member of the postwar Civil War south's new urban African-American middle class. His elegant Queen Anne residence served as the hub of the local black community from which he led the fight for social justice within Virginia. Listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register, the National Register of Historic Places and Recipient of a 1992 National Historic Preservation
Award. Operating hours are Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m.to 4:00 p.m. First floor wheelchair accessible. Located at Exit 3 from I-664, only minutes from Carter's Grove and all Newport News attractions.


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