Norfolk, Virginia: History
=== Colonial era ===
When the South Hampton Roads portion of the shire was separated, Thoroughgood suggested the name of his birthplace for the newly formed New Norfolk County. One year later, it was divided into two counties, Upper Norfolk and Lower Norfolk (the latter now incorporated into the City of Norfolk), chiefly on Thoroughgood's recommendation. This area of Virginia became known as the place of entrepreneurs, including men of the Virginia Company of London.
Norfolk developed in the late-seventeenth century as a "Half Moone" fort was constructed and 50 acres (200,000 m2) were acquired from local natives of the Powhatan Confederacy in exchange for 10,000 pounds of tobacco. The House of Burgesses established the "Towne of Lower Norfolk County" in 1680.
Norfolk was incorporated in 1705. In 1730, a tobacco inspection site was located here. According to the Tobacco Inspection Act, the inspection was "At Norfolk Town, upon the fort land, in the County of Norfolk; and Kemp's Landing, in Princess Anne, under one inspection." In 1736 George II granted it a royal charter as a borough. It was an important port for exporting goods to the British Isles and beyond.
After the American Revolution forced the Royal Governor of Virginia, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, to flee from Williamsburg, he made Norfolk the new capital of Virginia in 1775. Norfolk's 6,250 residents were primarily Loyalist because the British government had granted trade monopolies to many of their businesses. After losing at the Battle of Great Bridge that December, Lord Dunmore partially destroyed the city with naval cannonading. On January 16, 1776, the Patriots' Fourth Virginia Convention agreed to destroy most remaining homes to prevent Dunmore from using the city to amass British troops and runaway slaves.
Ultimately, Colonel Woodford drove Dunmore into exile, ending more than 168 years of British rule in Virginia. Only the walls of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church survived the bombardment and subsequent fires. A cannonball from the bombardment (fired by the Liverpool) remains within the wall of Saint Paul's.
When the British occupied Norfolk, Thomas Jefferson ordered its destruction by fire. Following recovery from the Revolutionary War's burning, Norfolk and its citizens struggled to rebuild. In 1804, another serious fire along the city's waterfront destroyed some 300 buildings and the city suffered a serious economic setback. During the War of 1812, British forces launched an unsuccessful raid against Norfolk. …