The Citie of Henricus

A Field Study of The Citie of Henricus
For my field study I chose to go to the Citie of Henricus, located in Chesterfield County along the James River at Dutch Gap. This is a fantastic park that not only reminds us of historical occurrences that have shaped our present day, but also provides us with some valuable examples of how human impact continues to change our world around us. What was a peninsula in 1611 when Sir Thomas Dale set out to establish a new colony named for the eldest son of King James, is today an island because of a 1930 initiative by the Army Corps of engineers to shorten the trip down the James River. Where the river once did flow is now only a wetlands. Also, there now exists a mountain created by the by-product of burning coal which was produced by the electrical power plant located in that area. A large lagoon now exists as well that was not originally there in 1611 because of man’s intervention. This site is also the place where the first ever college in America was founded which was intended to teach English settlers and native Americans alike.
Several important people have left their mark in this historically significant site including Sir Thomas Dale who was ordered to find a more healthful spot to create a colony than Jamestown which was located in swampy conditions. Pocahontas, of the Powhatan tribe, whom later would take on the Christian name, Rebecca and become married to the English tobacco farmer, John Rolfe. Rolfe also having great importance to this area as his tobacco crop would soon become the most valuable cash crop the colony had. Reverend Whitaker was responsible for the education and baptism of Rebecca and would eventually officiate this wedding. By the time this colony came to its tragic end in 1622 another heroin would arise, Mrs. Proctor, who held off the native attack on her home for upwards of three weeks before she was taken over due to a shortage of supplies. To this day the water treatment plant nearby on Coxendale Road bears the Proctor name. I noticed the name of this water treatment facility specifically when my car broke down right in front of it as I was leaving.
My favorite thing about the tour at the Citie of Henricus park is that they have people wearing clothing from 1611 who live and work as if they are still apart of the time period. They have the weapons and tools that were really used in that day and still demonstrate how it was done. I feel this is a very important part of this historical site in that it allows the people of our present generation to visually see what we can only read about in books giving us a much stronger connection to the people and times of the past.
Due to the nature of the circumstances there were a multitude of people who lost their life in this location. Later human intervention such as the mountain of fly-ash that was left here it is nearly impossible to ever know just how many people truly are buried here. Of these I find the story of Reverend Whitaker most interesting to me personally mainly because of a personal connection to this individual as my mother’s maiden name is Whitacre. This was a person who I was not familiar with prior to my field study and I am now beginning to research if there truly is any connection to this slight variation of the family name.
I would rate this tour an absolute 10 because of the great importance of the lessons that can be learned from this site. Not only about the history of the second English settlement in America, the first college founded in America, or the story of the struggle for these settlers trying to live in peace with the Powhatan tribe; But also of the impact we humans have on our environment around us and reasons why conservation is so important. I would strongly urge anyone to visit this site and enjoy the live action tour. If I were to take another field trip in Virginia it would surely be to Jamestown to learn more about the history and connection between these two settlements.