Born of the Sea

Few cities have played as important a role in maritime and military history as Portsmouth. Strolling the streets of the city's six historic districts you'll walk in the footsteps of our country's colonial pioneers... Captain John Smith, who first surveyed the land in 1608... Col. William Crawford, who founded our port city in 1752... General Cornwallis, who made his revolutionary home at Portsmouth prior to his move to Yorktown.

Established in 1787, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, one of the nation's oldest and largest shipyards, equipped the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimac) for its history-making battle against the USS Monitor. The Portsmouth Naval Hospital (now known as the U.S. Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth), established in the 1830's, is the Navy's oldest continuously operating medical hospital. Both, still in operation, are important landmarks of the city's past - and its future.

• Founded by Col. William Crawford in 1752
• Six historic districts – Cradock, Downtown Portsmouth, Olde Towne, Park View, Port Norfolk and Truxtun
• Olde Towne features one of the largest collections of historically significant homes between Alexandria, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina
• Emanuel AME Church, built by slaves and free men and located in Olde Towne, is the second-oldest building in Portsmouth and the city's oldest black church. The African-American Methodist Movement got its start here
• Battle of the Ironclads site – Monitor and CSS Virginia (Merrimac)