Near Charles City in Charles City County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

First English Thanksgiving in Virginia

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, December 2, 2013

1. First English Thanksgiving in Virginia Marker

Inscription. On 4 Dec. 1619, Capt. John Woodlief, a member of the Virginia Company, arrived aboard the ship Margaret with 35 men to take charge of Berkeley Hundred. An experienced former Jamestown settler, he became Berkeley's first governor. He bore instructions that the day of his ship’s arrival “be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to almighty God.” Beginning in 1958, the Virginia First Thanksgiving Festival commemorated this directive as the first English Thanksgiving in North America with an annual reenactment at Berkeley Plantation.

Erected 2012 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number V-70.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Colonial Era. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is December 4, 1619.

Location. 37° 19.861′ N, 77° 11.442′ W. Marker is near Charles City, Virginia, in Charles City County. It is on John Tyler Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 5) 0.3 miles east of Kimages Road ( Route 658), on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Charles City VA 23030, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Coastal Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

flies: Emanuel Quivers (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing (here, next to this marker); Westover (a few steps from this marker); Herring Creek & Kimages (a few steps from this marker); Stuart's Ride (approx. 0.2 miles away); Herring Creek (approx. half a mile away); Berkeley and Harrison's Landing (approx. one mile away); Colonial Kitchen (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Charles City.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Berkely Plantation. (Submitted on December 2, 2013.)

New Market Road image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, December 2, 2013

2. New Market Road

Shrine marking spot of First Thanksgiving in America, in 1619 image. Click for full size.

By Joe Orbin (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons, August 9, 2016

3. Shrine marking spot of First Thanksgiving in America, in 1619

It is on the grounds of the nearby Berkeley Plantation.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,758 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 2, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 3. submitted on December 2, 2023, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.