Newport News is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, located in the Hampton Roads region at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Newport News received its name either in 1610 (either from Christopher Newport receiving the "good news" of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr's arrival with supplies, or from the rebuilding of the town of Newport after a fire) or in 1621 (after Sir William Newce, a local landowner). Newport News was developed atop the former Indian village of Kecoughtan and was originally called "Elizabeth Cittie." Newport News was a small fishing village until after the American Civil War, and the modern city was founded by the California railroad businessman Collis P. Huntington. Newport News became a railroad hub after 1881, and the city became the county seat of Warwick County and later an independent city in 1896. Newport News annexed parts of Warwick County and the town of Kecoughtan in 1927, and it became the headquarters for the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation during World War II. In 1958, Warwick and Newport News merged. By the 21st century, Newport News consisted of a downtown area, coal export facilities, a major shipyard, and lower-income housing. In 2020, Newport News had 186,247 residents, of whom 41.27% were Black, 38.26% were white, 10.36% Hispanic, 5.64% multiracial, 3.35% Asian, .31% Indian, and .22% Pacific Islander.
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