Werowocomoco

Werowocomoco was the cultural and religious center when Powhatan was paramount chief, before the English arrived in 1607
Werowocomoco was the cultural and religious center when Powhatan was paramount chief, before the English arrived in 1607
Source: National Park Service, Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail

Virginia's first known capital was Werowocomoco, on the north bank of the river known as the Pamaunke until the English re-named it the York River. From it, Wahunsunacock (known to the English as Powhatan) controlled his territory.

It was called Tsenacomoco or Tsenacommacah, meaning "densely inhabited place." The English who arrived in 1607 called their territory Virginia, after their unmarried queen located in London.

The colonists quickly discovered that Powhatan was a paramount chief for over 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes. He appointed most werowances (lesser chiefs) living in Tidewater Virginia between the Aquia/Potomac creeks to the Elizabeth River.

He was born around 1550 at the town of Powhatan, which was located on the eastern edge of modern-day Richmond (perhaps at Tree Hill Farm) near the falls of the James River.1

His family, presumably an uncle, already had authority over the tribe living in that town plus five other tribes located near modern-day Richmond and Ashland - the Arrohothateck, Appamattuck, Mattaponi, Pamunkey, and Youghtanund. Before the English arrived, Powhatan inherited that power and then gained control over other towns living along the protein-rich York River and James River.

He expanded his power to the east, where other tribes also spoke an Algonquian language and were more willing to accept his authority. The Monacan living west of the Fall Line spoke a Siouan language and remained hostile.

Before the English arrived, Powhatan moved east and established his capital or "seat" at Werowocomoco. Choosing that location on the York River moved his place of authority from the western edge of Tsenacommacah closer to the center. Werowocomoco, which means "place of leadership," could have acquire its name as a result of that shift.2

expansion of territory over which Powhatan sought to exert control (Werowocomoco was not located in his original territory)
expansion of territory over which Powhatan sought to exert control (Werowocomoco was not located in his original territory)
Source: Ray Sterner, Color Landform Atlas of the United States - Eastern Virginia

Though Christopher Newport, John Smith, and other early colonists visited Werowocomoco and clearly recognized it as an important site, the location of Powhatan's primary town was "lost" by the mid-1800's. Augustine Herrman's 1670 map recorded the location of Native American settlements upstream of Werowocomoco recently owned by the Queen of the Pamunkeys, but omitted the name Werowocomoco.3

Pthe area occupied by the Manskin (Pamunkeys) was noted, but Werowocomoco was not recorded on Augustine Herrman's 1670 map
the area occupied by the Manskin (Pamunkeys) was noted, but Werowocomoco was not recorded on Augustine Herrman's 1670 map
Source: Library of Congress, Virginia and Maryland as it is planted and inhabited this present year 1670 (by Augustine Herrman)

According to local tradition in Gloucester County, Werowocomoco was located at modern-day Wicomico on Timberneck Creek, where an old chimney supposedly marked the remains of a house built for Powhatan by the English.

That chimney, ten miles away downstream from the actual site of Werowocomoco, collapsed in 1888. Failure to maintain the relict chimney led to the creation of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA). That non-government organization, now known as Preservation Virginia, has played a key role in saving Jamestown Island and various historic sites associated with English colonial gentry.

Powhatan's Chimney was once thought to mark the location of Werowocomoco
Powhatan's Chimney was once thought to mark the location of Werowocomoco
Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Williamsburg VA 1:62,500 topographic quadrangle (1906)

One author highlighted in 1893 why such an organization was needed:4

Virginia's Gloucester once held a king. One of the dwellings of grim old Powhatan was upon a bend of the York, the lovely Werowocomoco, whose curved shores are gay with riotous wild grape-vines and glossy bamboo. The great stone chimney of this kingly wigwam defied cold and heat for over two hundred years.

A short time ago it fell. There was shame in its fall. Virginia should have preserved it. The history of the mightiest nations upon earth hung about it. Still, it was left to crumble ignominiously in a rude corn-field, while the multitude who floated up the York, in call of its solitude, scarce knew it was there.

The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities rebuilt the chimney in the 1930's. The organization focused on the heritage of the English colonists, but was also interested in the "kingly wigwam" of the father of Pocahontas.

Powhatan's Chimney on Timberneck Creek was once thought to be the location of Werowocomoco
Powhatan's Chimney on Timberneck Creek was once thought to be the location of Werowocomoco
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper

Powhatan moved his capital away from Werowocomoco in 1609. In 2003, archeologists announced that the actual site was on Purtan Bay, in modern Gloucester County. Though everyone knew that Powhatan's capital was somewhere on the north bank of the York River, placing Werowocomoco that far upstream from the mouth of the York River was a revelation for some local residents.5

location of Werowocomoco at Purtan Bay
location of Werowocomoco on John Smith's map
Source: Library of Congress, Virginia (by John Smith, 1624)

According to John Smith, Werowocomoco is where Pocahontas came to his rescue at the beginning of 1608. Smith had been captured by Powhatan's brother Opechancanough while hunting on the Chickahominy River, and Smith was carried to various villages before being brought before Powhatan himself at his longhouse in Werowocomoco.

Robert Tindall identified James Town and Native American towns on the James and York rivers (Werowocomoco was labeled as Poetan) on his 1608 map
Robert Tindall identified James Town and Native American towns on the James and York rivers (Werowocomoco was labeled as "Poetan") on his 1608 map
Source: She-philosopher.com, Robert Tindall's Chart of the James and York Rivers, 1608

John Smith was the first European to see the place. He visited it a total of five times, including a visit with Christopher Newport to crown Powhatan. The colonists always came to Werowocomoco to see Powhatan; he never went to Jamestown. Captain Newport had thought he had met Powhatan on his first visit to the Fall Line on the James River, but he was confusing the werowance in charge of the town of Powhatan (Parahunt) with the paramount chief himself.6

John Smith was captured by Opechancanough, while hunting near the headwaters of the Chickahominy River, and ultimately taken to Powhatan at Werowocomoco
John Smith was captured by Opechancanough, while hunting near the headwaters of the Chickahominy River,
and ultimately taken to Powhatan at Werowocomoco
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles

Smith wrote his version in 1624, when anyone who might have disputed it was dead. According to the unverifiable 1624 story, Powhatan was conducting either an execution or a ritual that started with a special meal and could have ended with John Smith's head being smashed against a rock, but Pocahontas intervened:7

...having feasted him after their best barbarous manner they could, a long consultation was held, but the conclusion was, two great stones were brought before Powhatan: then as many as could layd hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid his head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines, Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death: whereat the Emperour was contented he should live...

if John Smith really was rescued by Pocahontas, there would not have been any Great Plains teepees at the site, and the Native American clothing would have been animal skins...
if John Smith really was rescued by Pocahontas, there would not have been any Great Plains teepees at the site, and the Native American clothing would have been animal skins...
Source: Library of Congress, Pocahontas saving the life of Capt. John Smith (1870 chromolithograph)

Today the reservations of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes are located on tributaries of the York River in King William County. The chief and council of the Pamunkey tribe is centered on a reservation on the Pamunkey River. The Mattaponi reservation is nearby on the Mattaponi River. Both are upstream from Powhatan's old capital at Werowocomoco, and west of the modern community of West Point where the York River is formed by its two tributaries.

modern reservations for Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes are upstream from West Point, at the confluence of Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers
modern reservations for Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes are upstream from West Point, at the confluence of Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper

In the days before the English arrived in 1607, Werowocomoco was the capital of just one Algonquian paramount chiefdom, Tsenacommacah.

Werowocomoco was never the capital of all of Virginia. The Iroquoian-speaking Nottaway and Meherrin south of today's James River, the Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee in southwestern Virginia, and the Siouan-speaking Monacan and Manahoac upstream of the Fall Line owed no allegiance to Powhatan.

Powhatan's span of control did not include 100% of Tidewater Virginia. Commands issued by Powhatan from Werowocomoco were not mandates that all Native American groups in Virginia had to obey.

Tsenacommacah extended along the south bank of "Powhatan's river" (today's James River) up to the Rappahannock River, and perhaps included towns on the southern bank of the Potomac River downstream from modern-day Colonial Beach. The tayac of the Piscataway had control over a separate set of towns on the southern bank of the Potomac River, including the Dogue tribe with its main town of Tauxenant at the mouth of the Occoquan River. The Algonquian-speaking tribes in what is now Northern Virginia (north of Fredericksburg) did not consider Powhatan to be their paramount chief.

Before the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery sailed into the Powhatan River, Powhatan had not consolidated control even over all territory on the peninsula between what we now call the James and York rivers. When Jamestown was established in 1607, the Chickahominy tribe, located on the Chickahominy River in the center of Powhatan's territory, was allied with - but not controlled by - Powhatan. He appointed the chiefs in the towns he controlled in Tsenacommacah, but Powhatan did not appoint the members of the council that governed the Chickahominy.

The Rappahannock River may have defined some border of Powhatan's Tsenacommacah when the English arrived. Powhatan considered the Patawomeck at Aquia/Potomac creeks to be subordinate to him, but his claim was tenuous. The Patawomeck managed to free themselves from obligations to pay tribute to Powhatan in 1613. That year, Patawomeck chief Japasaws conspired with a visiting English ship captain and helped him kidnap Pocahontas. If Powhatan retaliated against the Patawomeck, the English did not hear of it or document such a response.

Purtan Bay, site of Powhatan's capital Werowocomoco (red X) until 1609
Purtan Bay, site of Powhatan's capital Werowocomoco (red X) until 1609
Source: USGS Digital Raster Graphic, GeoTIFF of 1:24,000 Gressitt Quad (from Radford University GIS Center Spatial Data Server)

The arrival of the English disrupted the power structure in Tidewater Virginia. Two years after Jamestown was settled, Powhatan moved his capital. He abandoned Werowocomoco in 1609 and moved his capital to Orapakes, to get further away from the English colonists.

The immediate trigger for abandoning the site was a raid by John Smith. Powhatan had offered to provide food in exchange for the English building him a house and providing him swords and guns.

Smith sent by land some German glassmakers and over a dozen English workers to start building the house, while he sailed there on the Discovery accompanied by two barges. On the way down the James River the Warraskoyack chief warned John Smith that Powhatan was planning an ambush, but Smith was willing to take the risk in order to get the food.

After sailing and rowing the Discovery to Werowocomoco, Smith negotiated/displace sufficient force to get some corn loaded on his three boats. However, Pocahontas warned Smith that the Germans who had been sent to build Powhatan's house had switched sides. They must have assessed the quality of life if they returned to Jamestown vs. living in the Native American capital, and chose the Native American culture. It had less technology, but offered more food and more opportunity for female companionship.

In response to the warning, Smith made clear that the English were ready to fight if necessary. He then led the Discovery and barges further upstream on the Pamunkey River to acquire more corn from Opechancanough. That trade also involved both negotiation and force. At one point, Smith grabbed Opechancanough by the hair and shoved a pistol next to his chest to deter a planned attack.

On the way downstream, Smith met an Englishman who had come from Jamestown with news that two members of the council had drowned. Their deaths left the council with just Smith and one other person, and as president of the council Smith had two votes. That meant he could make official decisions on his own initiative now, and he determined to return to Werowocomoco with a surprise attack.

Powhatan anticipated the threat, perhaps alerted by the colonists who had chosen to switch sides. When Smith reached Werowocomoco, the "place of chiefs" occupied for the last three centuries was empty. Powhatan had left, and permanently shifted his "seat" to Orapakes.8

Archeological investigations have documented that site 44GL32 is the location of Werowocomoco at Purtan Bay, between Leigh Creek and Bland Creek. The site could date to the 13th Century. Long before Powhatan was born or the English arrived, Werowocomoco was significant in Native American culture.9

three creeks flow into Purtan Bay, where Werowocomoco is located
three creeks flow into Purtan Bay, where Werowocomoco is located
Source: US Geological Survey, Gressit 7.5x7.5 topographic map

In addition to the artifacts expected from excavation of a standard Native American town, archeologists have discovered other evidence that Werowocomoco was designed as a special, sacred place. Ditches, an unusual feature in Algonquian towns, separated the sacred site from the "normal" town. As described in the nomination of Werowocomoco to National Register of Historic Places:10

Archaeological excavations began in 2003 and have continued to the present. A combination of exploratory test units and block excavations have documented intact Late Woodland/Contact period deposits virtually throughout the 45 acres nominated... As expected, and typical of Powhatan villages, intensive occupation is found along the waterfront at Purtan Bay. Here have been documented literally hundreds of postholes from former structures in addition to other cultural features as well as well preserved faunal and botanical remains... It also is here that one finds the highest density and diversity of Native American artifacts on the site, with the Late Woodland/Contact period date being confirmed by the presence of shell tempered fabric impressed, simple stamped, and plain ceramic shards as well as triangular projectile points...

Unexpected, however, was continuation of intact Late Woodland/Contact period deposits to the east away from Purtan Bay. Here at a distance of approximately one thousand feet from the waterfront, two parallel ditches were discovered, each being approximately 2-3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep... These ditches virtually bisect the property in a north-south direction, thereby dividing the site into a western portion nearest the water and an eastern portion bordering an interior upper terrace edge.

The presence of solely Native American artifacts in all but the very tops of the ditches suggest they are indeed of Native American origin. This is further confirmed by two radiocarbon dates, one from each ditch, A.D. 1400-1450 and A.D. 1400-1460 (both calibrated ages at the two sigma range; cf. Gallivan et al. 2005).

Intriguingly, Smith... describes Powhatan's house at Werowocomoco as being "some thirtie score" from the waterfront. If one assumes he was referring to paces, this places the structure ca. 1,500-1,800 feet from the waterfront as it existed in 1607-1609, and clearly to the east of these ditches. Limited test excavations to the east of these ditches have documented the presence of Late Woodland/Contact period occupation here in association with intact postholes which are undoubtedly the remains of former structures.

Given the virtual uniqueness of the ditches in tidewater Virginia archaeology from the perspective of their location away from the waterfront, it is possible that they serve as a divide between the secular portion of the site nearest the water and perhaps a more restricted, possibly sacred, area to the east.

This interpretation is consistent with descriptions of Powhatan temples which are documented as having their entranceway and associated sacred fire facing east. It also is consistent with the use of Werowocomoco as the capital of the Powhatan chiefdom and principal residence of its paramount chief, who was at the pinnacle of not merely secular but also sacred power in the chiefdom.

Werowocomoco on York River, with ditches identified by dotted lines on Zuniga Map
Werowocomoco on York River, with ditches identified by dotted lines on Zuniga Map - see close-up
(Jamestown identified by triangular fort, marked by blue arrow)
Source: Werowocomoco Research Project Virtual Visit

Why did it take so long to "find" Werowocomoco? The site at Purtan Bay was not threatened by development, so confirming suspicions that it was the location of Powhatan's capital was not a high priority for archeologists. They made casual visits to contact the landowners starting in 1977, but never managed to catch them at home.

The location was examined closely only after the landowner began to place riprap on the shoreline. Fairfield Foundation archeologists met with the property owners in 2001, and contacted the Virginia Department of Historic Resources after seeing artifacts that had been collected on the surface. After being alerted by historians and archeologists about the site's unique value, landowners Bob and Lynn Ripley were extraordinarily supportive. They even funded the initial archeological site survey.

Before digging at the site, archeologists consulted with the eight tribes that were then recognized by the state of Virginia, to determine their research priorities and concerns. How to handle any human remains was discussed, though the American Indian Graves Protection and Repatriation Act did not apply since no Virginia tribes were Federally recognized at the time.

The tribes posed one particularly valuable question that helped shape the research: what was on the site before Powhatan's capital?

Excavations were conducted in 2003-07 and again in 2010. To define the boundaries of the area that had been occupied by Native Americans, archeologists dug over 600 shovel test pits 1-foot wide in diameter, every 50 feet. Late Woodland sites are typically 5-10 acres. Werowocomoco includes at least 50 acres of occupied land, and there were artifacts found as much as 1,500 feet inland from the shoreline.

Archeologists also dug 1.5-2 feet deep into subsoil in the ditches, which were found by good luck during the 2003 excavation. They discovered evidence of an unusually large structure, 20' wide by at least 70' long, when typical Algonquian homes were only 10-18' wide x 30' long.

The structure was distinctively unusual, and its site was identified thanks to the surface collection of copper pieces by the landowners. The archeologist from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources separated the collected copper into two types, identifying one that he thought would date to the era when Christopher Newport and John Smith were trading with Powhatan. The landowner then commented that all that type of copper was found at one specific location.

Two bands of dark soil up to 5' wide and 1-3' deep matched the outline of trenches shown on the Zuniga map. The bands are 4-7' apart and remain parallel. No other Native American site in Tidewater Virginia has trenches, other than those in which trees were inserted to create a defensive palisade. There are no postholes in the trenches at Werowocomoco, so they were a highly-visible earthwork rather than a defensive fortification.

Radiocarbon dates from charcoal and corn indicate a small trench, separate from two parallel ones, dated to 1200CE. The parallel trenches dated back to 1350CE, suggesting the site was a sacred center for 350 years before Powhatan was born.

Archeologists identified a gap in the trenches. That may indicate an entrance from the secular town along the river's shoreline to the sacred area. The gap lines up with the unusually-large longhouse at the summer solstice.11

the area behind the trenches, potentially the sacred zone and residence of Powhatan, was set back from the secular town next to the river
the area behind the trenches, potentially the sacred zone and residence of Powhatan, was set back from the secular town next to the river
Source: Werowocomoco Research Project, Werowocomoco: A Powhatan Place of Power

Powhatan may have moved to the site around 1590 when he was around 40 years old. At the time, he would have been consolidating his authority over recently-conquered tribes on the Coastal Plain, establishing his power within Tsenacommacah. Moving to the sacred center would have associated his earthly control with the spiritual powers concentrated there. If that was his intent, he had an alternative to Werowocomoco. Powhatan could have moved his capital to Uttamusack, the religious temple complex near West Point.

The location of Werowocomoco could have determined where Spanish missionaries settled in 1570. They landed on the north bank of the James River, but chose to walk across the Peninsula to the south bank of the York River to Kiskiak (which is now within the boundaries of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. The missionaries may have chosen to locate at that site for the same reason as Powhatan chose Werowocomoco: to be near the ceremonial center of the Native Americans living in that area.

In 1570, the existence of Powhatan may have been unknown to the Spanish. He was only 20 years old, and his uncle may still have been in control of the six towns near the Fall Line that became the starting point for Powhatan's paramount chiefdom. However, missionaries seeking to convert Native Americans to the Catholic faith may have learned quickly that Werowocomoco was a key place in the spiritual beliefs of the "pagans," and selected Kiskiak to help challenge those spiritual beliefs more directly.

John Smith was captured and brought to see Powhatan at Werowocomoco in January 1608. That is the place where Pocahontas supposedly rescued him.

When the College of William and Mary formally announced the discovery of Werowocomoco, no mention was made in the news release or at the news conference that Pocahontas was associated with the place. The university considered the site to be significant primarily due to its association with Powhatan and its long occupation as a spiritual center.

Nonetheless, her "saving" of John Smith dominated the news coverage after the announcement of the discovery. The interaction between Algonquian and English cultures 400 years ago involved complex political, economic, and social challenges, but a simplified tale popularized in a 1995 Disney movie shaped the reaction of the reporters. They recognized what the public would find most interesting.

As described in the first paragraphs of the New York Times story on the discovery of Werowocomoco:12

In American folk history, the Indian princess Pocahontas befriended English settlers and saved Captain John Smith from certain death at the hands of his Algonquin captors. It happened near the Jamestown colony in Virginia, within a year of its founding in 1607. Or it may be only a story.

But Pocahontas really was a princess, daughter of the powerful Powhatan, whose chiefdom encompassed much of coastal Virginia. She got along so well with the English that she eventually married one of them, John Rolfe, and was received at the court of James I.

Now Virginia archaeologists think they have found the site of the large village, Werowocomoco, where Pocahontas and Powhatan lived in the early 17th century.

Powhatan in his longhouse, prepared to greet John Smith
Powhatan in his longhouse, prepared to greet John Smith
Source: Library of Congress, John Smith's map

When the governor of Virginia announced in 2013 that the landowners had signed a conservation easement to protect the 58-acre site in perpetuity, once again the news release focused on the long-term significance of the site rather than the short period when Pocahontas lived at Werowocomoco. The June 21, 2013 news release was titled:13

Governor McDonnell Dedicates Werowocomoco, Paramount Chief Powhatan's Seat of Power in 1607, to Permanent Conservation
When English colonists settled Jamestown, the Indian town of Werowocomoco was a secular and sacred seat of power of the Powhatan Chiefdom
Long lost to history, in 2003 the site was publicly identified by archaeologists with DHR and the College of William & Mary
"Werowocomoco was basically our peoples' Washington DC." - Kevin Brown, Chief of the Pamunkey Tribe

On the other hand, whoever wrote the news release was careful not to "bury the lead," recognizing that the general public has more awareness of Pocahontas than of the religious/political significance of the site for 400 years. The first sentence in that news release was:

Today Governor Bob McDonnell joined Virginia Indians and Virginia's Department of Historic Resources (DHR) to publicly dedicate to conservation the site of Werowocomoco, the place where Paramount Chief Powhatan, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas first met, in December 1607.

150 years after John Smith visited Werowocomoco, the only place name at the site recorded on the Fry-Jefferson map was Portan Bay
150 years after John Smith visited Werowocomoco, the only place name at the site recorded on the Fry-Jefferson map was "Portan Bay"
Source: Library of Congress, A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia (by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson, 1757)

Capital Cities of Virginia

Creating Public Parks at Werowocomoco and Machicomoco

The First Anglo-Powhatan War (1609-13)

"Indians" of Virginia - The Real First Families of Virginia

Matchut

Menmend

Orapakes

The Pamunkey in Virginia

Pocahontas

Powhatan

Links

References

1. "Smith, Powhatan, & Pocahontas," Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, National Park Service, http://smithtrail.net/native-americans/indians-smith/smith-powhatan-pocahontas; Margaret Williamson Huber, "Powhatan (d. 1618)," Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, November 30, 2015, https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Powhatan_d_1618; "Linda S. Cordell, Kent Lightfoot, Francis McManamon, George Milner, Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2008, p.104, https://books.google.com/books?id=arfWRW5OFVgC (last checked June 20, 2017)
2. Helen Rountree, Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed By Jamestown, University of Virginia Press, 2005, p.27; Strachey, William, History of Travel into Virginia Brittania, published in Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617, editor Edward W. Haile, Champlain, VA, RoundHouse, 1998, p. 615; Virginia Indians at Werowocomoco - A National Park Service Handbook, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2015, p.3
3. William Tyler, "Pampatike Farm," http://www.pampatike.org (last checked June 21, 2017)
4. Sally Nelson Robbins, Gloucester. One of the first chapters of the commonwealth of Virginia, 1893, p.4, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/lhbcb.16559; James M. Lindgren, "'For the Sake of Our Future': The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and the Regeneration of Traditionalism," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 97, Number 1 (January 1989), p.48, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4249048 (last checked June 20, 2017)
5. "Settlement appears to be Powhatan's village," William and Mary News, October 23, 2003, http://web.wm.edu/news/archive/index.php?id=2451; "The Location of Werowocomoco" (contesting the Purtan Bay location), Mobjack Bay Relics, http://www.angelfire.com/va/mobjackrelics/Werowocomoco.html (last checked October 6, 2012)
6. Virginia Indians at Werowocomoco - A National Park Service Handbook, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2015, p.45, p.51-55
7. John Smith, The generall historie of Virginia, New England & the Summer Isles, together with The true travels, adventures and observations, and A sea grammar - Volume 1, Chap. II. What happened till the first supply, p.101, online at Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/lhbcb.0262a (last checked October 6, 2012)
8. David A. Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation, Vintage Books, 2003, pp.99-108, https://books.google.com/books?id=_EFbS_7fFcYC; "Pocahontas Revealed," NOVA, Public Broadcasting System, May 8, 2007, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3407_pocahont.html (last checked January 22, 2022)
9. "Landfall: A Look At John Smith's Legacy Through Recent Archeological Findings And A Water Trail Tracing His Travels In The Chesapeake," Common Ground, National Park Service, Summer 2007, https://www.nps.gov/commonground/Summer2007/intro.html (last checked June 20, 2017)
10. "Werowocomoco Archaeological Site," National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, http://powhatan.wm.edu/resources/downloads/036-5049_Werowocomoco_2005_NRdraft.pdf (last checked June 21, 2017)
11. personal communication, Randy Turner, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, during a September 2012 tour of the site for the Archeological Society of Virginia; Virginia Indians at Werowocomoco - A National Park Service Handbook, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2015, p.69, p.75, p.79, p.86, pp.92-96 (last checked June 21, 2017)
12. "Virginia Site Is Considered Possible Home Of Pocahontas," New York Times, May 07, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/07/us/virginia-site-is-considered-possible-home-of-pocahontas.html (last checked October 13, 2012)
13. "Governor McDonnell Dedicates Werowocomoco, Paramount Chief Powhatan's Seat of Power in 1607, to Permanent Conservation," Office of the Governor News Release, June 21, 2013, http://www.governor.virginia.gov/News/viewRelease.cfm?id=1855 (last checked July 6, 2013)

exhibit of Algonquian dwelling at 2009 State Fair
exhibit showing frame and coating of Algonquian dwelling at 2009 State Fair... with tractors and Ferris wheel in background (using reed mats saves significant time in reconstruction, but affects the authenticity of the reconstruction)


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