Blackbeard's Head Hung on a Pole: The Pirate History Hidden in Hampton Roads
November 22, 1718. A naval officer sailed into Hampton harbor with a severed head hanging from his bow. The spot where Blackbeard's head was displayed on a pole still has a name on local maps today — and most Hampton Roads residents have no idea.
Naval Station Norfolk History: How the World's Largest Naval Base Was Built in 6 Months on a World's Fair Site
In 1917, the U.S. Navy needed a major East Coast base — fast. What they found was an abandoned World's Fair site on Sewell's Point in Norfolk, and what they built there in under six months became the largest naval installation on Earth. Here's the story every Hampton Roads resident should know.
World War II Came to the Virginia Beach Shoreline — And Vacationers Watched It Happen
In the summer of 1942, beachgoers on the Virginia Beach shoreline watched tankers burn just offshore while German U-boats prowled the Atlantic almost completely unchallenged. It's one of the most visceral chapters of World War II — and almost nobody who lives here knows it happened.
The Day Two Iron Ships Changed Naval Warfare Forever — 5 Miles from Downtown Norfolk
On March 8, 1862, a Confederate ironclad steamed into Hampton Roads and sank two Union warships in a single afternoon — the worst naval disaster of the Civil War. The next morning, history changed again. The Battle of Hampton Roads Monitor Merrimack history is woven into the very water Hampton Roads residents live beside today.
The 34-Foot Sea Monster on Our Beach: The Story Behind the King Neptune Statue in Virginia Beach
Most locals have walked past him a hundred times without knowing the whole story. The King Neptune statue at 31st Street was cast in China in 120 days, shipped across the ocean, and planted at the edge of the Atlantic — and he's been watching over the boardwalk ever since. Here's the history behind Virginia Beach's most iconic landmark.