Kecoughtan, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Kecoughtan in Virginia
was originally named Kikotan (also spelled Kiccowtan, Kikowtan etc.), the name of the Algonquian
Native American
s living there when the English
colonists arrived in the Hampton Roads
area in 1607.
According to William Strachey
, Chief Powhatan
had slain the weroance
at Kecoughtan in 1597, appointing his own young son Pochins as successor there, while resettling some of the tribe at the Piankatank River. Powhatan annihilated the inhabitants at Piankatank in 1608.
The Kecoughtan village was where the English explorers received their first welcome in 1607. The tribe remained generally friendly to them until the summer of 1609, when president John Smith sent Captain Martin to forcibly take over the island inhabited by the Nansemonds, across the mouth of the James. A company of 17 men mutinied from Martin and absconded to Kecoughtan to buy corn, where they were all killed. Martin abandoned the Nansemonds' island and returned to Jamestown.
The colonists then built Fort Algernon
at Old Point Comfort
beside their main village in October 1609. After the arrival of Lord Delaware, the English seized the natives' land on July 9, 1610 by luring them out of their village with a tambourine
player, then attacking them. The surviving Kecoughtans fled to merge with other Powhatan groups. (See Anglo-Powhatan Wars)
On the same date in 1610, the Elizabeth City Parish
was founded. The area and the parish has since been continuously occupied. Renamed St. John's Episcopal Church
in 1830, the parish is the oldest English-speaking parish in the US today. The current church, constructed in 1728, is the fourth built for the parish.
Kecoughtan became part of Elizabeth River Shire in 1634, and Elizabeth City County
in 1637. In the 1690s, Kecoughtan became part of the newly incorporated Town of Hampton, which later became an independent city
. Elizabeth City County and its only incorporated town, Phoebus
, both agreed to a consolidation with Hampton in 1952, forming the current City of Hampton
.
Through Fort Algernon and the Kecoughtan settlement, Hampton can claim to be the oldest continually occupied English-speaking settlement in the United States
, by virtue of Jamestown (which usually claims this distinction) having been abandoned for two days in June 1610. And, later in 1698, when the capital of the Virginia colony and the parish seat moved to Williamsburg, the buildings at Jamestown, including the church, were abandoned.
In an area immediately to the south of the original settlement, many years later, the incorporated town
of Kecoughtan was formed on January 1, 1916 and existed in Elizabeth City County 11 years before it was annexed by the independent city of Newport News
on January 1, 1927.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
was originally named Kikotan (also spelled Kiccowtan, Kikowtan etc.), the name of the Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s living there when the English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
colonists arrived in the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area in 1607.
According to William Strachey
William Strachey
William Strachey was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonisation of North America...
, Chief Powhatan
Chief Powhatan
Chief Powhatan , whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh , was the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607...
had slain the weroance
Weroance
Weroance is an Algonquian word meaning tribal chief, leader, commander, or king, notably among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region. The Powhatan Confederacy, encountered by the colonists of Jamestown and adjacent area of the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607,...
at Kecoughtan in 1597, appointing his own young son Pochins as successor there, while resettling some of the tribe at the Piankatank River. Powhatan annihilated the inhabitants at Piankatank in 1608.
The Kecoughtan village was where the English explorers received their first welcome in 1607. The tribe remained generally friendly to them until the summer of 1609, when president John Smith sent Captain Martin to forcibly take over the island inhabited by the Nansemonds, across the mouth of the James. A company of 17 men mutinied from Martin and absconded to Kecoughtan to buy corn, where they were all killed. Martin abandoned the Nansemonds' island and returned to Jamestown.
The colonists then built Fort Algernon
Fort Algernon
Fort Algernon was established in the fall of 1609 at the mouth of Hampton Roads at Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony. A strategic point for guarding the shipping channel leading from the Chesapeake Bay, Fort Monroe was built there beginning in the 1830s. The area is now known as Old Point Comfort...
at Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton. It lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States....
beside their main village in October 1609. After the arrival of Lord Delaware, the English seized the natives' land on July 9, 1610 by luring them out of their village with a tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
player, then attacking them. The surviving Kecoughtans fled to merge with other Powhatan groups. (See Anglo-Powhatan Wars)
On the same date in 1610, the Elizabeth City Parish
St. John's Episcopal Church (Hampton, Virginia)
St. John's is an Episcopal church located in Hampton, Virginia within the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia.-Overview:St. John's Episcopal Church, established in 1610, is the oldest English-speaking parish in continuous existence in the United States of America. -History:English settlers...
was founded. The area and the parish has since been continuously occupied. Renamed St. John's Episcopal Church
St. John's Episcopal Church (Hampton, Virginia)
St. John's is an Episcopal church located in Hampton, Virginia within the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia.-Overview:St. John's Episcopal Church, established in 1610, is the oldest English-speaking parish in continuous existence in the United States of America. -History:English settlers...
in 1830, the parish is the oldest English-speaking parish in the US today. The current church, constructed in 1728, is the fourth built for the parish.
Kecoughtan became part of Elizabeth River Shire in 1634, and Elizabeth City County
Elizabeth City County, Virginia
Elizabeth City County was a county in southeastern Virginia from 1634 to 1952. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order of the King of England. In 1636, it was subdivided, and the portion north of the harbor of Hampton...
in 1637. In the 1690s, Kecoughtan became part of the newly incorporated Town of Hampton, which later became an independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
. Elizabeth City County and its only incorporated town, Phoebus
Phoebus, Virginia
Phoebus was an incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. Upon incorporation in 1900, it was named in honor of local businessman Harrison Phoebus , who is credited with convincing the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to extend its tracks to the...
, both agreed to a consolidation with Hampton in 1952, forming the current City of Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
.
Through Fort Algernon and the Kecoughtan settlement, Hampton can claim to be the oldest continually occupied English-speaking settlement in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, by virtue of Jamestown (which usually claims this distinction) having been abandoned for two days in June 1610. And, later in 1698, when the capital of the Virginia colony and the parish seat moved to Williamsburg, the buildings at Jamestown, including the church, were abandoned.
In an area immediately to the south of the original settlement, many years later, the incorporated town
Incorporated town
-Canada:Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government.-United States:...
of Kecoughtan was formed on January 1, 1916 and existed in Elizabeth City County 11 years before it was annexed by the independent city of Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
on January 1, 1927.