Henricus begins 400th commemoration this weekend

Volunteer Terry Price erects the frame for a Yehakin, or Native American longhouse, at Henricus Historical Park in preparation for the 400th commemoration. Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale left Jamestown with soldiers, tradesmen and farmers to create the Citie of Henricus. Subsequently, its leaders opened the first English hospital, chartered the first college in North America, established tobacco as the first cash crop in Virginia and created a place where Pocahontas lived and met John Rolfe – all in what is now Chesterfield County.

As the kickoff of its year-long 400th commemoration, Henricus Historical Park will welcome visitors Sept. 18-19 for Publick Days, a popular annual event that celebrates the establishment of the second viable English settlement in the New World.

Admission for the event, which will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days, is free. There is a $5 parking fee.

“We encourage the public to visit during Publick Days and come back throughout the year to learn about other significant historic milestones which took place at Henricus,” said acting executive director Charles Lewis Grant.

Henricus Historical Park is located on 32 acres along the James River in Chester and is surrounded by the 810-acre Dutch Gap Conservation Area. It features both a recreated Arrohateck Indian village and English settlement, where period-dressed historical interpreters help visitors experience and appreciate what life was like for Colonial Virginians in the early 1600s.

Activities planned for Publick Days include living history reenactments, English and American Indian weapons demonstrations, craftsmen and blacksmiths, 17th-century medicinal demonstrations, Virginia Indian songs and dance, historical children’s games and crafts, storytelling and food and craft vendors.

This year, Phoenix, a 17th-century ship replica, will be docked at Henricus on both days of the event. The sailing vessel is meticulously detailed for the period and will be on display to the public for the very first time.

“The idea is to get people stirred up,” said Terry Marr, one of between 60 and 100 historical interpreters who will be on hand at Henricus to entertain and educate visitors throughout Publick Days. “Kids say history is all names and dates. It’s incredibly boring the way we have to teach it in school. That’s what we’re here for – to make it exciting.”

Marr, who performed historic interpretations as a hobby for more than 20 years before spending two years at Jamestown and the last two at Henricus, said the most meaningful compensation for all the hours he spends in period garb is the enjoyment he gets from helping history come alive for people of all ages.

“If we don’t understand where we came from, how do we know where we’re going? That’s the nature of history,” he added.

“The Year of Henricus” will begin with Publick Days 2010 and run through the next September, with the following events planned:

• Pocahontas, Rocke Hall and the Powhatan People: Nov. 6-7. Learn about Pocahontas and her life under the guidance of Rev. Alexander Whitaker at his Rocke Hall home. Historical interactions will concentrate on the life of Virginia Indians during the European first contact period and will explore the historic events and cultural overviews of two groups with very different ways of life who lived in close proximity.

• Henricus Colledge (sic) – First University Chartered in North America: March 26-27. This event covers the beginnings of the American education tradition. Topics will be primarily presented through lectures, discussions and exhibits. Highlights will include discussions regarding Sir Thomas Dale and the religious and political questions of the day. The Indian Attack of 1622 will be discussed, as it postponed the construction of a college until 1693 in Williamsburg.

• Mount Malady – America’s First Hospital: May 7-8. This event details the science and technology of 17th-century medical care. Medical procedures and practices will be discussed and demonstrated. Topics will include the influx of a new work force in Virginia, the challenges these workers faced in their new environment and the science behind the medical treatment of their maladies.

• Tobacco – First Successful Commercial Export: July 23-24. Learn about early colonial tobacco in the area and John Rolfe, who introduced Spanish tobacco to mainland America. Explore the lives of indentured servants and the arrival of Africans in the “New World” who worked the tobacco fields. Discover how agriculture and trade affected the economics, politics and everyday lives of 17th-century Virginians.

Commemorative events for the 400th anniversary will conclude next September with the arrival of the 17th-century ship replica, the Godspeed, from Jamestown Settlement at Publick Days 2011.

For more information about all events during “The Year of Henricus,” visit www.henricus.org or call 748-1613.