Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Do not serve LP records. Serve use copy DVD. Reproduction may only be done with written permission from the current copyright holder, WXTG radio station in Hampton, VA, owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting, Silver Spring, MD.

Preferred Citation

Hampton (Va.) "The New City of Hampton, VA," 1952 July 1. Local government records collection, Hampton City Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

The LP records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from the city of Hampton under the accession number 45562.

Alternative Form Available

The 4 LP records are found at barcode 0007297563. The DVD is found at barcode 0007301368.

Historical Information

Hampton was located in Elizabeth City County, which is now extinct. It takes its name from the Hampton Creek, earlier called Southampton River in honor of the earl of Southampton, an important figure in the Virginia Company of London. An Indian village stood on the site in 1607, when John Smith visited the area. The English established a village there in 1601 and a trading post in 1630. Hampton was established by an act of assembly in 1680 and was designated as a port in 1708. It was first incorporated as a town in 1849, then it was incorporated again in 1852, but the act of incorporation was repealed in 1860. The General Assembly again incorporated the town of Hampton in 1887, and it became a city by court order in 1908. It was greatly enlarged in 1952 by a merger with Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus; the county and town thereby became extinct.

Scope and Content

"The New City of Hampton, VA" is a recording done by Hampton radio station WVEC on July 1, 1952, of a live broadcast of the first Hampton City city council meeting held in the Elizabeth City County courtroom, the city recently expanded by the absorption of the town of Phoebus and Elizabeth City County. New city council members present were James G. Crenshaw, E. F. (Ned) Hewins, E. C. (Ned) Bloxom, George C. Bentley, and John F. Mittlemaier. Business conducted at the first council meeting includes congratulations from various persons on the new city and the election of council clerk, mayor, vice mayor, city manager, city attorney, and trial justices. Other business includes the decision when and where to hold future council meetings, which banks will hold city funds, the continuation of all current employees of the three localities until further council consideration, rebonding of the city treasurer, continuation of state highway funds, continuation and compensation for all constitutional officers of the three localities, continuation of funding for projects previously committed to by the three localities with the exception of school funds, and the beginning of discussion about other committees the council had to create. The recording does not capture the entire meeting due to prior committments that the radio station had to other broadcasting.

Arrangement

LP records are four double sided 16-inch records. The cd contains eight .wav files, one for each record side. Duration: 95 min., 07 sec. The LPs of which this DVD is a copy were produced in 1952 by WVEC, Peninsula Broadcasting Corp., Hampton, VA. Reformatted from 16-inch LPs (33 1/3 rpm) to digital .wav file in October 2011. The files are saved on the server in the following location: \\hpworks1\eRecs\local\45562_Hampton City Council . The .wav files were created at a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, 16-bit depth, in mono. Digital files burned onto DVD in October 2011.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Hampton (Va.) City Council.

Subjects:

• City council members -- Virginia -- Hampton.
• City councils -- Virginia -- Hampton.
• Public meetings. -- Virginia -- Hampton.

Geographical Names:

• Hampton (Va.) -- History -- 21st century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records -- Virginia -- Hampton.
• Sound recordings -- Virginia -- Hampton.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Elizabeth City County (Va.)
• Phoebus (Va.)
• WVEC (Radio Station : Hampton, Va.)