Heritage Sites
Few cities possess the rich tapestry of multicultural historic sites as those in Hampton, Virginia. These sites encourage us to reflect on the past contributions and advancements of African Americans and inspiring us to rise to parallel achievements.
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Did You Know? |
7 Attractions Found
Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum
The museum celebrates the history, heritage and future of historic Aberdeen Gardens. Built for and by African Americans in 1935 as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Settlement, the neighborhood provided modern homes to African American shipping workers.
57 N. Mary Peake Boulevard
Hampton, VA
(757) 826-9174
Hampton, VA
(757) 826-9174
- Hours: Call for appointments!
- Free admission.
- Highway exit: 1-64, exit 268
Bay Shore Beach at Buckroe
During segregation, Hampton’s Bay Shore Beach located on the Chesapeake Bay, was one of the most popular black resorts on the east coast. What began in 1898 as a four-room cottage, grew to a three-story beachfront hotel with 70 rooms and long porches facing the water. The hotel and surrounding property were privately redeveloped in 1973.
End of Pembroke Avenue
Hampton, VA
(757) 850-5134
Hampton, VA
(757) 850-5134
Hampton History Museum
Galleries recount Hampton history from the city's early inhabitance by the Kecoughtan Tribe and the contributions of African Americans. View ten permanent galleries that bridge the past with the present, spanning from Hampton's settlement to the city's role as the founding site for the U.S. space program.
Downtown Hampton
120 Old Hampton Lane
Hampton, VA
(757) 727-1610
(800) 800-2202
120 Old Hampton Lane
Hampton, VA
(757) 727-1610
(800) 800-2202
- Hours: Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm and Sunday 1-5pm. Closed major holidays.
- Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, active military, active NASA, children 4-12. Under 4 free.
- Free visitor parking is available in the parking garage located at 555 Settlers Landing Road and accessed from History Museum Way, across the street from the museum entrance.
- Highway Exit: I-64, exit 267
Hampton University Museum
Established in 1868 as the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute to educate newly-freed African Americans, Hampton University’s campus is home to six national historic landmarks. Among them is Emancipation Oak, where Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was read to the citizens of Hampton, and Booker T. Washington Memorial Garden and Statue.
Huntington Building
Hampton University
Hampton, VA
(757) 727-5308
(757) 727-5170 fax
museum@hamptonu.edu
Hampton University
Hampton, VA
(757) 727-5308
(757) 727-5170 fax
museum@hamptonu.edu
Pick up a walking tour brochure at Hampton University Museum, the oldest African-American museum in the nation. The museum features one of the most exceptional collections of African, Native-American and African-American art in the United States.
- Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm; Sat, noon-4pm. Closed Sun. Closed major holidays and campus holidays.
- Free admission
- Highway Exit: I-64, exit 267
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Permanent Gallery Information |
Little England Chapel
Built circa 1879, Little England Chapel is Virginia's only-known African-American missionary chapel. The sanctuary holds a permanent exhibit that helps visitors understand the religious lives of post-Civil War African-Americans in Virginia and include handwritten Sunday school lessons, photographs, a 12-minute video, and 19th-century religious books. The chapel is both a state historic landmark and is on the National Historic Landmark. Call for church tour.
4100 Kecoughtan Road
Hampton, VA
(757) 722-4249
Hampton, VA
(757) 722-4249
- Hours: Open by appointment; Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Free admission; donations accepted
- Highway Exit: I-64, exit 265
Phoebus
Much of Hampton's African-American population settled near Camp Hamilton, adjacent to Fort Monroe in the Mill Creek Area, following Union-General Benjamin Butler's decree that slaves were "contraband of war." A nearby community of shanties became known as Slabtown, Camp Hamilton disbanded in 1865 and the area later became known as Chesapeake City. The area was incorporated as the town of Phoebus in 1900 and became part of the City of Hampton in 1952.
Phoebus Improvement League
Hampton, VA
(757) 727-0800
Hampton, VA
(757) 727-0800
Trusty House
William H. Trusty was born in 1862 of freed parents and rose to become a successful businessman and civic leader. Trusty built this 1897 house as a residence for he and his wife. He was one of the first African Americans elected to public office in Virginia, serving on Phoebus Town Council in 1901. He died suddenly in 1902 at the age of 40. The Trusty House is now a private residence and not open to the public.
76 West County Street
Hampton, VA
Hampton, VA
7 Attractions Found
