Plaque Text for Virginia Landmark #V-70:
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.
More about the First English Thanksgiving in Virginia:
While this was technically the first day set aside for thanksgiving, a solemn and prayerful occasion, the event that formed the basis for today’s turkey-centered holiday took place two years later in Plymouth, Massachusetts and was a harvest celebration! Thanksgiving was only celebrated here for three years until the Massacre of 1622, when the followers of Chief Opechancanough attacked settements up and down the James River!
In 1958, the owners of Berkeley Plantation, invited descendants of Captain Woodlief back to this spot, resurrecting this celebration! Since then, the Virginia First Thanksgiving Festival has served up plenty of fun, food, music, and historic reinactments on the first Sunday of November!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Donate to the Virginia First Thanksgiving Festival!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
Rte. 5, at pulloff 0.4 miles west of Rte. 640
Charles City, VA 23030
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!