History
During the American Civil War, the current park was the site of the Battle of Dam No. 1, part of the Battle of Yorktown (1862). In the days prior to the battle, the Confederate forces constructed rifle pits and other earth works from which they held off the Union Army forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. The earth works were preserved; though overgrown with woods, they are accessible from the White Oak nature trail on the camping side of the reservoir.
In the 1960s, as Newport News grew, the city found itself taxing its water supply. The solution to the problem was to purchase several lakes in the Lee Hall area and pump the water into the city. To protect the cleanliness of the water, a watershed around the new Lee Hall Reservoir was created. The watershed was developed into Newport News Park in 1966, primarily through the efforts of City Manager Joe Biggins, who considered the development of a large park important as the city continued to grow.
Read more about this topic: Newport News Park
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“This above all makes history useful and desirable: it unfolds before our eyes a glorious record of exemplary actions.”
—Titus Livius (Livy)
“It’s nice to be a part of history but people should get it right. I may not be perfect, but I’m bloody close.”
—John Lydon (formerly Johnny Rotten)
“History, as an entirety, could only exist in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world. History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)