Have you ever wondered why the Norfolk Navy Yard is located in Portsmouth, VA.? There's a good, historical reason. The first shipyard built in Norfolk was the Gosport Shipyard, opened November 1, 1767 under the auspices of the Britishicon Crown. In 1775 the Colony of Virginia seized the property as the revolution ramped up. In 1779, while in operation under the new Commonwealth of Virginia, the shipyard was burned to the ground. The Federal Government bought the shipyard in 1801 and built Dry Dock One, making it the first one in the Americas.

In 1861, fearing that the Confederates would seize the shipyard, its commander had it burned to the ground. An abandoned hulk, the USS Merrimack, was burned to the waterline and scuttled in the entrance way to the dry dock. When the Confederates took the shipyard they refloated the wreck of the Merrimack, built new doors, floated Merrimack's remains into the dry dock, and rebuilt the wreck into into the ironclad CSS Virginia. That ship fought the USS Monitor in the Battle of Hampton Roads. The confederates burned the shpyard when they left in 1862. Sound familiar? When the shipyard was retaken by Union troops, it was renamed Norfolk Naval Shipyard for the county in which it resided.

In the late 1950s and 1960s the area underwent a geopolitical upheaval as many smaller cities attempted to accession the lands from the counties around them. Portsmouth, VA. negotiated with Norfolk County and acquired its shoreline adjoining the shipyard on the western bank of the Northern Branch of the Elizabeth River, opposite modern-day Norfolk. Wisely there was no attempt to change the name of the already-established Navy Yard.

Bob