America 250: Newport News' 140-year shipbuilding legacy

NEWPORT NEWS — As the nation marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Hampton Roads region is reflecting on one of its most enduring contributions to the country — a shipbuilding legacy stretching back nearly 140 years.

It was back in 1886 when Collis Huntington founded what was then known as Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Company. The company was originally established to support the railroad industry.

"He needed a place where ships could be built, repurposed, refitted, and commissioned to directly support the coal line trains from the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway system which line ended here in Newport News," said Erika Ellis, assistant curator for community engagement at Mariners' Museum and Park.

By World War One, the shipyard had grown into a premier destination for warship construction — a distinction it holds to this day. Some ships were even built in camouflage in an effort to confuse German U-boats. The workforce surged dramatically during that period.

"Newport News Shipbuilding saw a major surge and increase in workforce both people going to — a couple thousand people to roughly over 12,000 workers at the shipyard," Ellis said.

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After the war, demand for ship production dropped. In an effort to retain workers, the shipyard used its staff to build what would become Mariners Museum and Park.

"In that regard, we're going to see another effort of the shipyard helping the community in other ways," Ellis said.

Production picked back up during World War Two. In the 1960s, USS Enterprise became the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, launching a modern era for the shipyard.

"The evolution of ship production from those early vessels like the Dorothy tug to the Gerald R. Ford class vessels that we see today spans 140 years of evolutionary ship production and design," Ellis said.

The shipyard, now owned by HII — formerly Huntington Ingalls Industries — employs about 26,000 people today.

"Over the course of 140 years they have continued to grow adapt and evolve," Ellis said.

The Dorothy, a tugboat completed at Newport News Shipbuilding in 1891, stands as one of the earliest examples of that long legacy.

"We are as a community who we are as a direct result of people like shipbuilders who put their heart and soul into creating these vessels that go out across the globe and defend us both in times of peace and war," Ellis said.

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As America marks 250 years of independence, the region's role in building the ships that guard national security remains a source of deep community pride.

"Shipbuilding is such a proud tradition that we here in Newport News get to be a part of and it just really makes our community that much more unique," Ellis said.

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