Warwick County, Virginia

Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the northern bank of the James River between Hampton Roads and Jamestown, the area consisted primarily of farms and small unincorporated villages until the arrival of the Peninsula Extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1881 and development led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington.

The community at the southeastern edge on the harbor of Hampton Roads became Newport News in 1896, hosting the world's largest shipyard.

During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads.

[4] Sampson Mathews from nearby Augusta County oversaw the operation stationed at Warwick, the most important of Virginia's ship works.

On the afternoon of April 5, 1862 as part of the Peninsula Campaign 1862, IV Corps under BG Erasmus D. Keyes reached and looted the Warwick County Courthouse, later using it as a divisional headquarters and balloon reconnaissance post.

The following year, in 1881, it was announced that Newport News had been chosen as the Atlantic deep water terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O).

During the next few years, Huntington developed the southeastern area of the county extensively, notably building the new Hotel Warwick.

The U.S. Army base, hastily constructed during World War I near the mouth of the Warwick River, included Mulberry Island.

Lee Hall, Virginia was the closest railroad station and handled a large volume of troop traffic, especially during World War II when Camp Patrick Henry was established nearby.

Camp Patrick Henry served primarily as a troop staging ground during World War II under the control of the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation.