Before the Jamestown colonists reached their final shore, they arrived at a place they named Cape Henry, and beyond that lay an inlet that would one day shelter the towns of Hampton Roads: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. The images collected in Historic Photos of Greater Hampton Roads offer a remarkable glimpse into the history of these unique communities. Included among hundreds of photographs are snapshots of Naval Station Norfolk, the Atlantic and the Chamberlin hotels, the Planters works, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad station, St. John’s Church, Norfolk’s City Market, the 1907 Jamestown Ter-Centennial, the Virginia Beach boardwalk, the Glenn Curtiss flying school, and countless others.

Published in striking black and white, these images communicate the historic events and everyday life of two centuries of people and two centuries of America. Historic Photos of Greater Hampton Roads is sure to captivate anyone curious about the region’s past, from the student of history to the local history buff.