Werowocomoco, the site where Captain John Smith, Paramount Chief Powhatan and Pocahontas first met in 1607, was recognized Friday with an easement dedication ceremony.
The dedication ceremony featured Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and the Virginia Indians along with Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources, which will hold the easement on the Gloucester site. The site will continue under ownership of its current owners, Bob and Lynn Ripley.
“The preservation of Werowocomoco and today’s dedication ceremony embodies the special relationship the Commonwealth has with Virginia’s living Indian community,” McDonnell said in a release. “Together, these efforts serve as tangible evidence of our ongoing commitment to that community and to its rich history and culture.”
After the site dedication, Pamunkey Indian Chief Kevin Brown spoke and gave strings of quahog wampum and copper beads to the Ripleys, the director of the DHR and the state’s secretary of natural resources.
“Werowocomoco was basically our peoples’ Washington, D.C. It is a very sacred and historic site and we are very happy it is being put into an easement to protect it from development,” Brown said in a release.
Werowocomoco is located on the York River, where archaeologists from the College of William and Mary and DHR publicly identified it in 2003. Archaeology has uncovered the largest longhouse investigated in Virginia at the Werowocomoco site.
The site was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
For more information on the site, visit the Werowocomoco Research Project website.
