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Born in 1595, Pocahontas was the favorite daughter
of Chief Powhatan, a significant distinction as he fathered approximately 100
children. When the English settlers arrived in Virginia they
encountered the Mattaponi tribe ruled by Powhatan’s Confederation (see Mattaponi
Indian Museum selection and Jamestown Settlement).
The inquisitive Princess Pocahontas was
fascinated by the English and she frequently visited their fort. Most
historians believe that her 1607 “rescue” of Captain John Smith, when she was
12, was part of an adoption ritual intended to welcome a foreign captive into
the tribe. It wasn’t long before Pocahontas discovered what it was like to be a
captive. In 1613, two years after Captain John Smith returned to England,
Pocahontas was kidnaped by Captain Samuel Argall. After ransom negotiations
between Argall and Chief Powhatan broke down, Pocahontas was taken to the new
Citie (sic) of Henricus.
This was the second permanent English
settlement. Although John Smith claimed Jamestown was the “fittest place for an
Earthly Paradise,” its low-lying terrain proved to be too swampy. Henricus was
established by Sir Thomas Dale, a sea captain and temporary deputy governor of
the Virginia colony, along with 350 settlers in 1611 on a bluff above the James
River. The Native Americans attacked the settlement constantly and it was in
hopes of securing peace that Argall took Pocahontas hostage. She was taught
Christianity by Reverend Alexander Whitaker and at age 18 or 19 was baptized in
Henricus’s church, taking the name Rebecca. In 1614, Rebecca (after obtaining a
divorce from her Indian husband) married John Rolfe, a young English planter and
had a son they named Thomas. It was John Rolfe who developed a sweeter tasting
tobacco hybrid while living near Henricus. In 1616-1617 the Rolfes traveled to
London where Pocahontas dazzled the English court. Pocahontas died in London in
1617 after a brief illlness. The peace achieved by Pocahontas presence at the
settlement broke down and a massacre in 1622 virtually destroyed Henricus. On
Good Friday, May 22, 1622, Powhatan’s warriors came to Henricus and, after
entering the settlement, they used the colonists’ own weapons to slay them.
This historic site was overlooked for centuries,
but in 1985 the Henricus Historical Park opened (although it wasn’t until
1995 that the access road to the park opened). This is still a work in
progress. The Henricus Foundation plans to add a four-acre village with a
recreation of Mt. Malady, the first hospital in North America, as well as the
church where Pocahontas was baptized. Three more watchtowers and other
settlement buildings will be constructed. There will also be a visitor center
to provide orientation. Already in place is a fort with a watchtower and firing
platforms, a wattle and daub settler’s home (intended for six men since women
didn’t arrive in the colony until 1619) and a small fence-enclosed garden
planted with corn and tobacco. There is also a mile-and-a-quarter walking path
along the James River. A free boat dock is available for those who travel to
the park by water.
The Henricus Historical Park reconstructed area
is open at no charge Thursday, Friday and Sunday NOON to 5:00 P.M. and Saturday
9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The park area is open March through October from 8:00
A.M. to 8:00 P.M. and until 6:00 P.M. the rest of the year.
A special Publick Day is held annually on the
third Sunday in September. A lively celebration includes historical reenactors,
colonial crafts, children’s games and musket companies, a Native American
exhibit and period food like Indian corn soup, Brunswick stew, gingerbread
cookies and sassafras tea.
Directions: From I-95 take Exit 61A, and travel east on Route 10 for about one
block to Old Stage Road. Take Old Stage Road north for two miles to Coxendale
Road and make a right; continue on that for a ½ mile to Henricus Road.
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TRAVEL
WRITERS WANTED
FREE
trial lesson in new
"WRITING TO
PUBLISH WORKSHOP."
Send us
an
email for details. Publication
is guaranteed for those
accepted in program. Instructor is
former president of the Society of
American Travel Writers.
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