Henricus
Encyclopedia
The "Citie of Henricus" — also known as Henricopolis or Henrico Town or Henrico — was a settlement founded by Sir Thomas Dale
in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement
at Jamestown, Virginia
. It was named for Prince Henry, the eldest son of King James I
.
The site of Henricus later became part of the Shire of Henrico (1634), renamed Henrico County in 1637. In 1749, the portion of Henrico County that lay south of the James River
was detached to form the present-day Chesterfield County
.
Today, the settlement is interpreted via Henricus Historical Park, a living history museum.
, just a few miles southeast of the modern city of Richmond, Virginia
, but at the time, one of the westernmost outlying developments from the Colony of Virginia's fortified capital at Jamestown.
In 1612-1613, a facility known as "Mt. Malady" was built nearby, becoming the first hospital in the English colonies of North America.
This city is near where Pocahontas
grew up among the Appomattoc
tribe, where Reverend Alexander Whitaker
converted her to Christianity
and where she met John Rolfe
, who married her on April 5, 1614. Rolfe's longtime friend, Reverend Richard Bucke of Wymondham
officiated their wedding. They lived together across the river at the Varina Farms Plantation. Their son, Thomas Rolfe
(named for Sir Thomas Dale, governor of the colony of Virginia), was born on the plantation.
s had come into existence by 1622, when the town and much of the English settlement effort was destroyed in the Indian Massacre of 1622
. By 1623, there were more settlers on the college land than before the massacre. The next year, however, King James dissolved the Virginia Company
and its college, seizing its assets and transforming the proprietary colony to a royal one.
Virginia had to wait for a full scale educational system until after the English Civil War
was finally resolved in the bloodless Glorious Revolution
, which saw King William and Queen Mary
crowned in 1689 as joint rulers of England and Scotland. In 1693, the College of William and Mary
was established. A plaque on the Wren Building
(the main original college building) ascribes its origin to "the college proposed at Henrico".
. During the American Civil War
, the narrow neck of land on which Henricus was located was excavated in an attempt to bypass Confederate defensive batteries
along the James River, which resulted in Dutch Gap
. The channel was later widened, and the old river channel silted-up, forming what is now the 810 acres (3.3 km²) Dutch Gap Conservation Area.
Eventually the exact location of the former town of Henricus was forgotten. The 12 acres (4.9 ha) archeological site in Henrico County
was listed as Henrico on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
in 1972. Though archaeological evidence of the actual settlement has not been found (due to the creation of Dutch Gap and other disturbances nearby), a reconstruction based on historical evidence of the settlement has been created nearby as a living history museum, Henricus Historical Park.
The name of Henricus College (1619) has been revived for "American Heritage Research and Continuing Education".
Thomas Dale
Sir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement
English colonial empire
The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....
at Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
. It was named for Prince Henry, the eldest son of King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
.
The site of Henricus later became part of the Shire of Henrico (1634), renamed Henrico County in 1637. In 1749, the portion of Henrico County that lay south of the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
was detached to form the present-day Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
.
Today, the settlement is interpreted via Henricus Historical Park, a living history museum.
History
Henricus was the second successful English city in the New World and was located on the James RiverJames River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
, just a few miles southeast of the modern city of Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, but at the time, one of the westernmost outlying developments from the Colony of Virginia's fortified capital at Jamestown.
In 1612-1613, a facility known as "Mt. Malady" was built nearby, becoming the first hospital in the English colonies of North America.
This city is near where Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
grew up among the Appomattoc
Appomattoc
The Appomattoc were a historic tribe of Virginia Indians speaking an Algonquian language, and residing along the lower Appomattox River, in the area of what is now Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Chesterfield and Dinwiddie Counties in present-day southeast Virginia.The Appomattoc were affiliated...
tribe, where Reverend Alexander Whitaker
Alexander Whitaker
Alexander Whitaker was a Christian theologian who settled in North America in Virginia Colony in 1611 and established two churches near the Jamestown colony, and was known as "The Apostle of Virginia" by contemporaries....
converted her to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and where she met John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
, who married her on April 5, 1614. Rolfe's longtime friend, Reverend Richard Bucke of Wymondham
Wymondham
Wymondham is a historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies 9.5 miles to the south west of the city of Norwich, on the A11 road to Thetford and London.- Before The Great Fire :...
officiated their wedding. They lived together across the river at the Varina Farms Plantation. Their son, Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe was the only child of Pocahontas by her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Wahunsunacock, the chief of Powhatan tribe in Virginia.-Early Life:Thomas Rolfe was born in Virginia...
(named for Sir Thomas Dale, governor of the colony of Virginia), was born on the plantation.
College at Henricus
The early seventeenth-century settlers of the colony tried to start what would have been the first institution of higher education in British America. In 1618, a royal charter was obtained for founding the University of Henrico, and in following years land was set aside for its use. But nothing more than a school for Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s had come into existence by 1622, when the town and much of the English settlement effort was destroyed in the Indian Massacre of 1622
Indian massacre of 1622
The Indian Massacre of 1622 occurred in the Colony of Virginia, in what now belongs to the United States of America, on Friday, March 22, 1622...
. By 1623, there were more settlers on the college land than before the massacre. The next year, however, King James dissolved the Virginia Company
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April1606 with the purposes of establishing settlements on the coast of North America...
and its college, seizing its assets and transforming the proprietary colony to a royal one.
Virginia had to wait for a full scale educational system until after the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
was finally resolved in the bloodless Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
, which saw King William and Queen Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
crowned in 1689 as joint rulers of England and Scotland. In 1693, the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
was established. A plaque on the Wren Building
Wren Building
The Wren Building is the signature building of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. Along with the Brafferton and President's House, these buildings form the College's Historic Campus....
(the main original college building) ascribes its origin to "the college proposed at Henrico".
Today
The area later saw action during the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the narrow neck of land on which Henricus was located was excavated in an attempt to bypass Confederate defensive batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
along the James River, which resulted in Dutch Gap
Dutch Gap
Dutch Gap is located on the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia near the site of the lost 17th-century city of Henricus.In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale, according to a method he had learned while campaigning in Holland, cut a ditch across a portion of land behind town...
. The channel was later widened, and the old river channel silted-up, forming what is now the 810 acres (3.3 km²) Dutch Gap Conservation Area.
Eventually the exact location of the former town of Henricus was forgotten. The 12 acres (4.9 ha) archeological site in Henrico County
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
was listed as Henrico on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1972. Though archaeological evidence of the actual settlement has not been found (due to the creation of Dutch Gap and other disturbances nearby), a reconstruction based on historical evidence of the settlement has been created nearby as a living history museum, Henricus Historical Park.
The name of Henricus College (1619) has been revived for "American Heritage Research and Continuing Education".
External links
Further reading
- David A. Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of A New Nation, Alfred A. Knopf, 2003
- Philip A. BrucePhilip Alexander BrucePhilip Alexander Bruce was an American historian who specialized in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Author of over a dozen volumes of history, Bruce's scope ranged from the first Virginia settlements to the early 20th century...
, Institutional History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century (Volumes I and II), Kessinger Publishing, 2006