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 Cape Henry Memorial Cross - Virginia Beach VA Posted by:  Don.Morfe
N 36° 55.686 W 076° 00.532
18S E 410148 N 4087371
Here at Cape Henry first landed in America, upon 26 April 1607, those English colonists who, upon 13 May 1607, established at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in America.
Waymark Code: WM13JXK
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/27/2020
Views: 0
Erected by the National Society, Daughters of the American Colonists
April 26, 1935
TEXT from the Interpretive Sign at the site:
Cape Henry
Memorial Cross
On April 26, 1607 three small ships approached the Chesapeake Bay from the southeast and made their landfall at Cape Henry, the southernmost promontory of that body of water. The Virginia Company expedition had set sail from England in December, 1606. Released from their four month confinement, the colonists, led by the Reverend Robert Hunt, gave thanks to God for their safe voyage. Before them lay the vast American wilderness known as Virginia.
Captain Christopher Newport, the commander of the expedition, went ashore with a party of thirty to explore this new land filled with “faire meddowes,” “Freshwaters,” and “goodly tall Trees.” Near the end of the day an encounter with Indians left two of the party wounded.
The next day a party was put ashore to “recreate themselves” and to assemble a small boat (shallop). The “shallop” was launched and used to explore the lower reaches of the Chesapeake Bay.
On April 29, the colonists, possibly using English oak already fashioned for the purpose, “set up a Crosse at Chesupoic Bay, and named that place Cape Henry” for Henry, Prince of Wales, oldest son of King James I. They where then ready to follow their instructions to push deeper into Virginia to seek a site suitable for settlement.
Early on April 30, they moved to a new anchorage at a place named “Cape Comfort” (Old Point Comfort); shortly thereafter they entered the James River. After two weeks of searching along both sides of the river, they established a permanent settlement at Jamestown on May 13, 1607.
This memorial cross, erected in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists, serves as a reminder of that original oak cross planted by a group of Englishmen in search of gold, adventure and natural resources. But more importantly, Cape Henry marks the beginning in a continuing chain of events which saw the shaping of American culture by English institutions and customs.
Type of cross: Latin cross
Material used: Stone (granite, sandstone, marble, ...)
Characteristics of this cross:
This cross is mounted on a base of granite blocks and stands about 6 feet tall. Is is surrounded in the back by a wall of granite blocks located not far from the Atlantic Ocean.
Describe the location:
Marker is in Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Follow U.S. 60 (Atlantic Avenue/Shore Road) into the First Landing State Park and enter the Fort Story military compound. Obtain directions at gate and proceed to the Cape Henry Memorial parking lot - corner of Atlantic Avenue and New Guinea Road. The memorial site is within Fort Story, but it is part of the National Park Service's Colonial National Historical Park. The marker is on the base of the memorial cross, northeast of the parking area. Marker is in this post office area: Virginia Beach VA 23459, United States of America.
Year of manufacture: 04/26/1935
Is this cross commemorative ?: Yes
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Visit Instructions:
Post at least one photograph of this cross.
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