Virginia Colonies
The Virginia Company Colony
Contact information can be found on this link.
Cape Henry Colony
Our Colony serves the greater Hampton Roads area of Southeast Virginia, welcoming members / applicants from all areas. Our fall meeting is usually held in
Virginia Beach in October and our spring meeting is held in Hampton in April. As required, we also hold meetings on-line.
Cape Henry Colony was chartered on April 2, 2017 and has grown to a membership of 26 with several prospective members currently working on their applications. We have members from New York, Louisiana, North Carolina, in addition to Virginia. In Virginia we have members from Virginia Beach, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Port Hayward, Poquoson, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Richmond.
We chose Cape Henry as the name of our Colony to highlight the historic nature of the Hampton Roads area we call home. Cape Henry was so named on April 26, 1607 in honor of Henry Frederick Stuart, the elder of the two surviving sons of King James I of England, and heir-apparent to the throne of Great Britain. Captain Christopher Newport led this expedition of the London Company branch of the proprietary Virginia Company to the shores of Virginia. After an unusually long voyage of 144 days from England, it was their first landfall, an event which has since been called "The First Landing." Soon after this landing the English colonists erected a wooden cross and gave thanks for a successful crossing to a new land, the first official Thanksgiving in the colonies. Captain Newport, with his three ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, and the group of 104 men and boys, subsequently explored inland and established Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
The Colony currently is supporting two major philanthropic projects. The first is to provide funds for the work by Preservation Virginia to restore and paint the spiral staircase of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation assisted Preservation Virginia in the identification of the original composition and color of the interior metal staircase, as installed in 1867, to replace the original wooden stairs from 1792. The lighthouse is owned and operated by Preservation Virginia, and is a National Historic Landmark located at Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The Cape Henry Lighthouse was the very first federally-funded public works project in our nation; authorized by President George Washington and overseen by Alexander Hamilton. The lighthouse is situated near “The First Landing” site. The lighthouse, built with the same Aquia sandstone as many federal buildings in Washington D.C., guided travelers arriving by sea to safety in Virginia for more than 100 years.
The second project is support to two local foodbanks that are pivotal in supporting our area: the Foodbank of Southeasten Virginia and the Foodbank of Virginia Peninsula. These foodbanks provide an essential resource for individuals, families, seniors, children, and veterans who confront the challenge of food insecurity. The Hampton Roads area, has the highest concentration of active and retired military personnel in the U.S.
These two projects are emblematic of the philanthropic mission of the Cape Henry Colony and of the National Society.
If you are interested in learning more about the Cape Henry Colony, please send inquiries here.
Contact information can be found on this link.
Cape Henry Colony
Our Colony serves the greater Hampton Roads area of Southeast Virginia, welcoming members / applicants from all areas. Our fall meeting is usually held in
Virginia Beach in October and our spring meeting is held in Hampton in April. As required, we also hold meetings on-line.
Cape Henry Colony was chartered on April 2, 2017 and has grown to a membership of 26 with several prospective members currently working on their applications. We have members from New York, Louisiana, North Carolina, in addition to Virginia. In Virginia we have members from Virginia Beach, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Port Hayward, Poquoson, Newport News, Portsmouth, and Richmond.
We chose Cape Henry as the name of our Colony to highlight the historic nature of the Hampton Roads area we call home. Cape Henry was so named on April 26, 1607 in honor of Henry Frederick Stuart, the elder of the two surviving sons of King James I of England, and heir-apparent to the throne of Great Britain. Captain Christopher Newport led this expedition of the London Company branch of the proprietary Virginia Company to the shores of Virginia. After an unusually long voyage of 144 days from England, it was their first landfall, an event which has since been called "The First Landing." Soon after this landing the English colonists erected a wooden cross and gave thanks for a successful crossing to a new land, the first official Thanksgiving in the colonies. Captain Newport, with his three ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, and the group of 104 men and boys, subsequently explored inland and established Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
The Colony currently is supporting two major philanthropic projects. The first is to provide funds for the work by Preservation Virginia to restore and paint the spiral staircase of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation assisted Preservation Virginia in the identification of the original composition and color of the interior metal staircase, as installed in 1867, to replace the original wooden stairs from 1792. The lighthouse is owned and operated by Preservation Virginia, and is a National Historic Landmark located at Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The Cape Henry Lighthouse was the very first federally-funded public works project in our nation; authorized by President George Washington and overseen by Alexander Hamilton. The lighthouse is situated near “The First Landing” site. The lighthouse, built with the same Aquia sandstone as many federal buildings in Washington D.C., guided travelers arriving by sea to safety in Virginia for more than 100 years.
The second project is support to two local foodbanks that are pivotal in supporting our area: the Foodbank of Southeasten Virginia and the Foodbank of Virginia Peninsula. These foodbanks provide an essential resource for individuals, families, seniors, children, and veterans who confront the challenge of food insecurity. The Hampton Roads area, has the highest concentration of active and retired military personnel in the U.S.
These two projects are emblematic of the philanthropic mission of the Cape Henry Colony and of the National Society.
If you are interested in learning more about the Cape Henry Colony, please send inquiries here.
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