|
|
Algonquian-speaking Native Americans migrated here from the north at least 800 years before the first Europeans arrived, taking up l and that had been occupied by other tribes as early as 10,000 years before. Six years after the 1607 landing, the Europeans planted a settlement at West and Shirley Hundred on the north side of the James River. In quick succession, settlers planted six more settlements along the same shore. The native inhabitants were scattered, but in diminished numbers they clung to the land. From the early seeds of European settlement, great tobacco plantations grew and with them the need for labor. During the late 1600s and early 1700s, the labor of enslaved Africans quickly repl aced that of English indentured servants. During the 1800s the Civil War brought emancipation to these slaves and other changes in the way residents earned their livelihood. Logging, fishing and small-scale farming became the primary way of life for Charles City residents well into the 1900s. Today, only a small number of county residents continue to draw their livelihood from the forests, the water and the land. Yet, Charles City residents remain tied to this land, a setting so timeless “The New World,” starring Colin Farrell, chose several locations in the county for filming.
As Virginia invites the nation to come home to its birthplace in 2007, Charles City County invites you to take a short drive from Jamestown to discover in one community four centuries that made a nation.
NEXT -> |
