This cemetery was created in 1895 to serve the Jewish communities of the peninsula, including the cities of Hampton and Newport News, VA. The original cemetery was orthodox and was called Hebrew Cemetery of the Virginia Peninsula. In the 1930's an adjacent conservative cemetery was created called Rosenbaum Memorial Park. The two cemeteries had separate entrances and were separated by a wall of shrubbery. In 2002 the two cemeteries were combined into the nonprofit Jewish Cemetery of the Virginia Peninsula. The cemetery underwent major repairs and renovations, including removal of the shrubbery separating the two sections. The signage over the original gate on Kecoughtan Rd. was not changed and still reads "Hebrew Cemetery". There is also signage on the gate to the left side, on Piedmont Ave, which reads "Rosenbaum Memorial Park".

When you come into Hebrew from Kecoughtan Road, everything to the right of the road is Hebrew, and everything to the left is Rosenbaum. The entrance to Rosenbuam where the sign is off of Piedmont Avenue.