Celebrate the holiday season at Historic Endview with a hands-on wreath-making workshop! Participants will craft their own festive wreaths using grapevine and natural materials gathered from Endview’s grounds while learning about eighteenth- and nineteenth-century holiday traditions.
Each session includes a guided tour of the historic house, offering insight into how families of the past celebrated the season.
This special program is co-sponsored by the Peninsula Master Naturalists. Space is limited to 12 participants per session, and advance reservation required.
December 4 1:00pm-3:00pm
December 5 10:00am-12:00pm
December 5 1:00pm-3:00pm
Fee: $25
For ages 18+
Join this guided two-mile hike, stopping at key points along the way, and learn about the history of Newport News and the Park. On November 19, we will meet at Newport News Park Discovery Center and depart at 1pm.
Please use your best judgement in accessibility as this hike will last approximately 90 minutes and the trail does have inclines, declines, rougher patches, and tree roots. Wear weather appropriate clothing, ankle protection boots/walking shoes, and bring your own water, bug spray, snacks, and/or anything else you may need on your person.
Where? Newport News Park Discovery Center
When? November 19, 1:00pm
Welcome to our joint community partnership program–Coffee with a Historian: Graveyards and Their Preservation, hosted in partnership with the City of Newport News Historic Services, Lebanon Christian Church, and St. Luke’s Historic Church & Museum.
This particular program came to be because of the deep connections Lebanon Christian Church holds within the Lee Hall community (particularly Historic Endview, Lee Hall Mansion, and Lee Hall Depot) and a combined passion between all of us to educate the public on historic graveyards and their preservation.
Join us as we meet at Lebanon Christian Church, 409 Yorktown Rd in Newport News, as we explore the history of the Lee Hall community through the graveyard at Lebanon Christian Church. Learn about the preservation of the graveyard, and why it is so important to preserve our historic graveyards around Virginia, the country, and the world.
Where? Lebanon Christian Church, 409 Yorktown Rd, Newport News, VA
When? 11:00am-12:00pm
The French Gratitude Train, commonly referred to as the Merci Train, consisted of 49 boxcars given to the United States by France in 1949. One was sent to each state and one to share between Washington, DC and then-territory of Hawaii. The idea was to thank the United States for more than $40 million in food and supplies sent to France and Italy on the American Friendship train in the aftermath of World War II. The Commonwealth’s Merci Train boxcar is housed at the Virginia War Museum.
Inside the boxcars were gifts including statues, clothes, furniture, dolls, ornamental items, and more donated by more than six million French and Italian citizens. “Merci America” was painted across the freighter. Curators at the Virginia War Museum were able to locate 15 of the original gifts, which will be on display.
“The exhibit recounts the amazing story of post-WW II boxcar diplomacy and commemorates the long-standing bond between the United States and France,” said Airris Madden, Newport News Department of Parks and Recreation Assistant Director (Arts, Culture, and Engagement).
This exhibition is included in the museum’s general admission price and is a VA 250 event celebrating America’s 250th birthday.
September 11 – October 31, 2026
Vernon L. Carter first photographed the World Trade Center when he was studying ultra-modern architecture in New York City in the 1980s. In 2001, he took photographs of the World Trade Center when he went to New York on a job assignment shortly after the devastating attack on September 11.
One day after work, carrying his camera, he walked from his job location in Lower Manhattan to Ground Zero. He was escorted to a newly built viewing platform to observe the clean-up efforts. The platform was primarily reserved for law enforcement, first responders, and family members who had lost loved ones in the dreadful attack.
After leaving the platform, he surveyed the area surrounding Ground Zero and took additional photos of the devastation. This exhibit includes 21 of these images. There will also be an opportunity for guests to participate in a community memory archival project to reflect on their experiences and thoughts from 25 years ago.
Learn about the archaeology of Historic Endview, Warwick County and Newport News, and our regional area through educational and hands-on programming. Community partners will host interpretive tables focusing on the archaeology at their sites including, but not limited to, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Colonial National Historical Park, York River State Park, St. Luke’s Historic Church and Museum, and Lebanon Christian Church.
There will be a Kids Area with hands-on activities. Our City of Newport News Archaeologist will also be on site, allowing you to learn more about the archaeology of Warwick County and Newport News, as well as Historic Endview. The historic house will be open for self-guided tours of the basement and first floor.
Suggested Donation of $5.00 per person
Age or Participation Requirements: All ages!
Discover the Newport News Shipyard legacy — explore the people and places that built our community.
Although visitors cannot enter Newport News Shipyard due to security restrictions, this tour will feature many sites related to the shipyard, including Huntington Avenue, the tugboat Dorothy, the Apprentice School Dormitory, the Victory Arch and Victory Landing Park, the Yard District, and Hilton Village. Guests will learn about the shipyard’s founding, its role in 20th century wars, and its current priorities. The tour will be led by a museum historian from Newport News Historic Services and will include brief opportunities to walk around.
The tour will begin and end at the Virginia War Museum, where there is ample free parking. Please arrive at 9:45AM to board the trolley for a 10:00AM departure. We will return to the Museum by 11:30AM.
The trolley is heated and air conditioned and has traditional wooden bench seating. It does not have seat belts and cannot accommodate car seats, so the tour is not recommended for children.
The trolley is wheelchair accessible. If you use a wheelchair, please contact us at nnhistoricsites@nnva.gov when purchasing your ticket so we can adjust the ticket capacity accordingly.
Please note that ticket pre-sales end at 3:00PM the day before the tour. Remaining tickets, if available, may be purchased beginning at 9:00AM at the Virginia War Museum on the morning of the tour.
