The Tidewater Region—the land where the rivers are affected by the ocean's tides—is the oldest settled area in the original 13 states. It has continued to be economically and militarily important throughout its history, to this day.

The first settlement was at Jamestown, and the remains of the original capital of British Virginia can still be seen. Nearby is the still-thriving town of Williamsburg, whose succession to capital status doomed Jamestown in 1699. Williamsburg itself was supplanted by Richmond, and fell into decline; but in 1923, oil millionaire John D. Rockefeller bankrolled the restoration of the sleepy town to its days of splendor—and now, Colonial Williamsburg is the most popular tourist attraction in the state.

Near Williamsburg is Yorktown, where Washington's defeat of Cornwallis' army in 1781 sealed America's independence.

At the mouth of the James River lies the enormous metropolitan area of Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, which is the largest urban concentration in the state. Shipping and ship-building remain important industries here, just as they were in colonial days, and the U.S. maintains a military presence in the area that includes Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base.