Let's Begin the Countdown to 2019 and the Ringing In of the 400th Anniversary of Several First in America's History

On July 30, 1619 the first elected law-making assembly in the New World convened in the choir of the Jamestown Church. 400 years later, descendants of the men who founded America and made their way to the James Fort for this significant event in Virginia's Colonial History will gather at the church to celebrate the beginnings of a 'government by the people and for the people.'

The year 1619 saw two other great events that shaped life in America for centuries. They are definitely defining moments in our history.

First, the introduction of a tobacco plant into the Virginia Colony by John Rolfe, an ardent smoker, and the cornerstone of a highly successful economy. For years this sweet tasting tobacco was "the gold standard" in currency for the colony and a highly sought after commodity in England.

Secondly, ​that same year and only a dozen after the 1607 landing and just one year before the Pilgrims stepped ashore at Plymouth Rock, the first Africans arrived in the Virginia Colony at Jamestown with implications that would unfold for centuries to come.

Come join The Jamestowne Society as we bring the founders of English America living at Jamestown Island alive in this blog. Learn about the beginnings of America!

-Susan Evans McCrobie, Jamestowne Society Communication Committee Chair 2018-2019