Smith's Hundred or Smythe's Hundred was a colonial English settlement in the

Province of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (hist ...

, in the modern United States of America. It was one of the original

James River plantations James River plantations were established in the Virginia Colony along the James River between the mouth at Hampton Roads and the head of navigation at the Fall Line where Richmond is today. History The colony struggled for five years after it ...

named after the treasurer of the Virginia Company, Sir Thomas Smith. It was settled by the English in 1617 and after 1620, was known as Southampton Hundred in honor of the Earl of Southampton. The site was originally home to a village of the

Paspahegh The Paspahegh tribe was a Native American tributary to the Powhatan paramount chiefdom, incorporated into the chiefdom around 1596 or 1597. The Paspahegh Indian tribe lived in present-day Charles City and James City counties, Virginia. The Po ...

Indians. They were located along the north bank of James River. Smith's Hundred was located eight miles above the English fort at Jamestown and extended from Weyanoke Hundred to the south bank of

Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern bo ...

on the north bank of James River. The settlement was abandoned after the Powhatan Uprising of 1622. The area is now called Sandy Point in

Charles City County, Virginia Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The a ...

. The first General Assembly (which became the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

) in 1619 included two representatives for Smythe's Hundred Plantation: Captain Thomas Graves and Walter Shelley.

Communion silver

St. Mary's Church was established in Smith's Hundred in 1618 in part with £200 bequeathed by Mrs. Mary Robinson, of St. Olave Parish in London, to educate the "poore(sic) people" (i.e. Powhatan Indians) in Christianity. Along with others who contributed to the church was an unknown person who gave a set of Communion Silver (

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

: London 1617/1618). When the church was abandoned during the Uprising of 1622, the communion silver was taken to Jamestown. It was held by Sir George Yeardley, Governor of the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

. After his death, the Jamestown court in 1628 had

William Claiborne William Claiborne also, spelled Cleyburne (c. 1600 – c. 1677) was an English pioneer, surveyor, and an early settler in the colonies/provinces of Virginia and Maryland and around the Chesapeake Bay. Claiborne became a wealthy merchant ...

, land surveyor for the Colony, inventory the items from Smith's Hundred. It is believed he had the silver given to the St. John's Episcopal Church, the second Church in the relocated, renamed settlement (then called

Elizabeth City Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and educ ...

). This silver comprises the oldest church artifacts in continuous use from the colonial period in the United States. These items are preserved and used on special occasions at St. John's, now located in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

References

Historical Marker:

{{authority control Populated places in colonial Virginia Geography of Charles City County, Virginia