In the seventeenth century, Kecoughtan was the name of the settlement now known as Hampton, Virginia, In the early twentieth century, it was also the name of a town nearby in

Elizabeth City County Elizabeth City County was a county in southeastern Virginia from 1634 until 1952 when it was merged into the city of Hampton. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order ...

. It was annexed into the

City of Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

in 1927.

Colonial and Native American Kecoughtan

Kecoughtan in Virginia was originally named Kikotan (also spelled Kiccowtan, Kikowtan etc.), the name of the Algonquian Native Americans living there when colonists led by

Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...

arrived in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area in 1607. According to William Strachey,

Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommacah ...

had slain the '' weroance'' at Kecoughtan in 1597, appointing his own young son Pochins as successor there, while resettling some of the tribe at the

Piankatank River The Piankatank River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Virginia. Located on the Middle Peninsula, between the Rappahannock an ...

. Powhatan annihilated the inhabitants at Piankatank in 1608. The Kecoughtan village was where Captain John Smith and his group of settlers received their first welcome in 1607. The tribe remained generally friendly to them until the summer of 1609, when president John Smith sent Captain Martin to forcibly take over the island inhabited by the Nansemonds, across the mouth of the James. A company of 17 men mutinied from Martin and absconded to Kecoughtan to buy corn, where they were all killed. Martin abandoned the Nansemonds' island and returned to Jamestown. The colonists then built

Fort Algernon Fort Algernon (also spelled Fort Algernourne) was established in the fall of 1609 at the mouth of Hampton Roads at Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony. A strategic point for guarding the shipping channel leading from the Chesapeake Bay, Fort Monro ...

at Old Point Comfort beside their main village in October 1609. After the arrival of

Lord De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ...

, the colonists seized the native village on July 9, 1610 by luring them out with a tambourine player, then attacking them. The surviving Kecoughtans fled to merge with other groups in the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom. On the same date in 1610, the Elizabeth City Parish was founded. The area and the parish has since been continuously occupied. Renamed St. John's Episcopal Church in 1830, the parish is the oldest English-speaking parish in the US today. The current church, constructed in 1728, is the fourth built for the parish. Kecoughtan became part of

Elizabeth River Shire Elizabeth City Shire was one of eight shires created in colonial Virginia in 1634. The shire and the Elizabeth River were named for Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of King James I. During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of Jamestown ...

in 1634, and

in 1637. In the 1690s, Kecoughtan became part of the newly incorporated Town of Hampton, which later became an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

. Elizabeth City County and its only incorporated town, Phoebus, both agreed to a consolidation with Hampton in 1952, forming the current City of Hampton. Through Fort Algernon and the Kecoughtan settlement, Hampton can claim to be the oldest continually occupied English-speaking settlement in the United States, by virtue of Jamestown (which usually claims this distinction) having been abandoned for two days in June 1610, and also because after 1698, when the capital of the Virginia colony and the parish seat moved from James town to Williamsburg, the buildings at Jamestown, including the church, were abandoned.

Town of Kecoughtan (20th century)

In an area immediately to the southwest of the original settlement, the incorporated town of Kecoughtan was formed on January 1, 1916 within

. It was located between Salters Creek and Hampton Roads and was developed by the Newport News, Hampton, and Old Point Development Company. The major business located in the town was Elizabeth Buxton Hospital. It was served by Woodrow Wilson School and a town hall and firestation. Eleven years later it was annexed by the independent city of

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...

on January 1, 1927. At that time the town's population was 1,198 and the total length of its streets five miles. The hard surface roadway connecting the area to the city of

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia * Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick * ...

opened in 1910 and was named Kecoughtan Road for the town. It was incorporated into

US Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in th ...

References

William and Mary archaeological study of site of Kecoughtan
{{authority control Archaeological sites in Virginia Former municipalities in Virginia Populated places in colonial Virginia Lost Native American populated places in the United States Geography of Hampton, Virginia Powhatan Confederacy

Colonial and Native American Kecoughtan

Town of Kecoughtan (20th century)

See also

References