Jamestown: A Brief Overview

Couple of savages sitting under the Pocahontas statue

 Jamestown, VA was the first permanent English settlements in the Americas.
In December of 1606, 104 settlers sailed from London
to find a water route to the Orient, settle Virginia and find gold.
From the moment they stepped off the shipped,
the settlers came under attack by the Algonquin Indians in the area.
The Algonquins were a constant on-again-off-again enemy.

Pocahontas daughter of Chief Powhatan

Captain John Smith was able to set up trade with the Algonquins

but with Smith's departure back to England,

the period known as "The Starving Time" came about.

Many people died from starvation and disease 

and there was a period of warfare between the colonists and the natives.

Eventually more colonists arrived at Jamestown

under a second charter by the king (James I)

that allowed for stronger leadership.

Settlers attempted several different types of industries

before John Rolfe introduced tobacco farming

which proved to be profitable.

John Rolfe ended up marrying Pocahontas, the chief's daughter. 
I've made many trips to Jamestown,
and I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.
(photos with the exception of the one at the top of the page were taken with 
and IR filter- yes, I was looking for ghosts.)

Stingray Point- The Beginning

This is Captain John Smith.

I'm sure you've heard some version of his story-

settled Jamestown, got in a fight with Powhatan and his Native American posse 

and was saved by Pocahontas Powhatan's daughter who was around 12-13 years old at the time.

Contrary to Disney, Capt John and Pocahontas were not in love.

She ended up marrying  John Rolf and dying of smallpox.

But that isn't the story I want to tell.

Replica of the Explorer at the Holly Point Nature Center

On July 17, 1608

Captain John Smith and his crew aboard the shallop Explorer

ran aground at the mouth of the Rappahannock River.

As they waited for the tide to come in, Smith and his men began fishing in the shallows

spearing fish with their swords.

Captain Smith speared a stingray and was struck in the wrist by the ray's barb.
It was a painful wound,
and John Smith, certain he had been mortally wounded
had his crew prepare his grave on the nearby island.
Captain Smith did not die.
He recovered and was able to eat the offending ray for dinner.
He named the nearby isle Stingray Point.
The name is still used today.

There are some who thought that the area in question was actually the nearby island called Gwynn's Island which can be seen from the shore of what is called Stingray Point.
However, after much research into Captain John Smith's logs,
 it has been determined that the area where this took place
was actually a small atoll near the area where the
 Stingray Point Lighthouse once stood.