Chapter 13
Chapter 13 of Jamestown and Her Neighbors on Virginia's Historic Peninsula by Jane E. Davis. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Hampton, America's Oldest English Town The oldest town in this historic region, and in fact the oldest continuous English town in America, is Hampton on the north shore of Hampton Roads, occupying both sides of Hampton Creek.
The roads, the creek, and the town were all at first Southampton, named for the Earl of Southampton in England. Hampton had its beginnings, as we have seen, in the small settlement in 1610 on the site of the Indian village of Kecoughtan, where the soldiers' home now stands. However, owing to the establishment on the west side of the river of the tobacco warehouses ordered, 1691, set up in each county by the General Assembly, the settlement grew in that situation instead of on the east side, and in 1705, Hampton was legally incorporated as a town. It was a port of entry as well as a shipping port for tobacco,
and there was consequently much business in the way of customs and tonnage duties. In fact, it was the place of greatest trade in Virginia and was also the county seat with courthouse and prison, built in 1716, pillory, whipping post, and ducking stool. It was then a place of 100 houses, and the people lived in great comfort. The first church, 1624, appears to have stood on the east side of Hampton Creek on the Gleebland near the bridge reached through College Place. The
foundations have been unearthed and the spot rededicated. A handsome iron fence surrounds it, the gift of the Kecoughtan branch of the APVA, and a granite cross commemorating the site, has been placed by the Hampton chapter of the DAR. The first minister was the Reverend William Meese, who is said to have come to Virginia with Sir Thomas Gates in 1610. Near the Indian House thicket, here was leased a piece of land by one of the early ministers of this parish, who,
says Lion G. Tyler in his Cradle of the Republic, was the first exponent of the idea that, quote, the only good Indian is a dead Indian, end quote. He had published a letter expressing his belief that it would be useless to attempt to civilize the Indians until their head men were put to death. It is a curious coincidence that Hampton Institute, which has helped to prove the falsity of the minister's position by training hundreds of Indians for useful citizenship,
should stand as it does so near the spot formerly leased by this man of little faith. About 1667, a new church was built at Pembroke Farm, one mile west of Hampton, where four ancient tombstones still mark its site. It was because this church was out of repair that from 1694 to 1728, when the foundations of old St. John's were dug, services were held in the courthouse, first in the old one and then in the new one built in 1716. St. John's Church, then, one of the oldest
now in use in the United States, dates from 1728, when it was built of bricks burned with wood taken from the school land, the school being the one established by Benjamin Sims, the first free school in America. The bricks were of English bond, and the same kind are found in the Jamestown Tower in St. Luke's, 1632, at Smithfield, in St. Paul's, 1739, Norfolk, and in other early colonial churches. One of the rectors of St. John's writes to the Bishop of London sometime
between 1719 and 1731, that his parish is 50 miles in circumference and contains 350 families, and that there are about 100 communicants, and that the slave owners are careful to instruct the young Negro children and bring them to baptism. In 1760, one of the parishioners bequeathed 40 pounds sterling towards purchasing a bell out of England, provided the vestry and church wardens would undertake to build the belfry within 12 months. The old vestry book, dating back to 1751,
tells of the contracts awarded for building and painting the belfry, and no doubt the bell was purchased, for later records speak of the, quote, old Queen Anne bell which hung in the tower on the west end of the church, end quote. In 1755, General Braddock made Hampton his headquarters while outfitting for his campaign against the French, and camps and hospitals were set up for the soldiers until they re-embarked for Alexandria, whence they marched westward to
their disastrous defeat. The spot where Braddock landed, in what is now the west end of Hampton, has been marked with an attractive monument by the colonial names of America in the state of Virginia. Owing to the numerous arms of the sea that indent the coast of eastern Virginia, Hampton and the outlying plantations were peculiarly exposed to attacks by sea, and during the Revolutionary period, so great was the danger from this source that the gallant
little state navy was organized, as we have seen, for coast defense. Skirmishes between the militia and detachments from Dunmore's and Cornwallis' fleets in the roads continued during the whole period of the war, but after the repulse of Captain Squires' force in 1775, there was no attack on Hampton during the Revolution. Tradition says that in 1776, shortly after the Declaration of independence, the steeple of St. John's Church was struck by lightning, and the royal coat of arms,
which had adorned it, was thrown to the ground. However that may be, the people certainly threw off the English yoke and made a stand for democratic equality. The change was apparent not only in government affairs, but in social and domestic matters. Simplicity of dress became the Rule, ceremony, and pomp in public functions were discarded, class distinctions became weaker, and the great plantations dwindled in size. Fortunately, the old English love of outdoor
life and sports and the cordiality and hospitality of his ancestors remained to the Virginian, and hunting, fishing, fox hunting, and the entertainment of guests are still among the pleasures of the residents of Tidewater, Virginia. The War of 1812 was more destructive than the Revolution in its effect on the town of Hampton. Admiral Cockburn, who commanded a British fleet lying in the roads, attacked Hampton on June 25, 1813. Landing a force of 2,500 men at what is now
Indian River in the boulevard section, he himself sailed with a small fleet towards Hampton Creek, appearing off Blackbeard's Point from whence he shelled the town. The waterfront was protected by seven small guns and 450 militia who were encamped at Little England Farm, now known as West End, under command of Colonel Crutchfield. The little garrison repulsed the enemy for a time, but the latter, joining the land party, obliged Colonel Crutchfield's force to retreat up the
peninsula in which direction many of the inhabitants had already fled. The outrages permitted by the British during their two days stay have made this occupation of Hampton notorious in history. The town was given up to pillage and the inhabitants assaulted and robbed. This vandalism is attributed to the French prisoners who formed part of the British force and were fresh from similar scenes of plunder and outrage in Spain. Mr. Richard B. Servant, who was for many years
secretary of the vestry of St. John's Church, says that when he came into town, a boy of 12, after the British had evacuated it in 1813, he found that they had used the old graveyard as a slaughterhouse for cattle and that the church walls bore marks of fires that the soldiers had kindled to cook their meals. The interior of the church had been used as a common barrack. Just before the war, the old Queen Anne Bell of the parish had been removed to the militia camp
at Little England. The tongue had become loose and an axe that had been used to strike the hour had cracked the famous old bell. From this time until 1824, the church was allowed to go to decay and became a common shelter for horses, cattle, and hogs. Religion must have been at a low ebb indeed to have allowed such desecration of a sacred edifice in time of peace. It is said that when efforts were finally made to restore the church, it was difficult to find more than
a half dozen prayer books in the parish. The first suggestion to restore the church property to its former condition, was made in 1822 or 1823 by Mrs. Janie Hope, the eldest daughter of Commodore James Barron. Her suggestion was acted upon by Mr. Servant, who succeeded in raising funds to rebuild the walls of the graveyard and to place a wrought iron gate at the entrance. A meeting of the Friends of the Church followed, and a vestry was elected, the members of which
made a determined effort to raise funds for the repair of the church. At this time, nothing was standing but bare walls and a leaky roof. Nothing else remained but the English tiles on the floor, all the church furniture having been destroyed. Fortunately, the vestry book had been carefully preserved by a resident and is still intact, a moth-eaten crumbling volume containing the parish records since 1751. The church enclosure was cleaned and occasional services held while the
repairs were going on, some of the worshipers sitting on the bare tiles of the floor. Early in 1830, these repairs were completed and the church was consecrated by Bishop Moore. The old bell was recast and remained for many years the best bell in the country. For 31 years, the parish records of St. John's continued unbroken. Then again, in 1861, all but the walls of the church and the vestry book were sacrificed. On a midsummer night, in order to prevent its occupation by federal
troops, Hampton was fired by the property owners of the town. Officers and soldiers in the Confederate army, quote, to demonstrate the intense earnestness of the people in the cause they had espoused and for which they considered no sacrifice too great. End quote. But five houses and the church walls remained standing on the site of the attractive little village of Hampton. Only one of these houses is now in existence. There were but few people in the town, and these were notified
of the plans of General Magruder, the commanding officer, who had reluctantly yielded to the wishes of the inhabitants to destroy their $200,000 worth of property. After the war, the old families flocked back to the ruins of their homes in Hampton, ever afterwards known as the Gamecock Town, and house-building commenced. St. John's was restored in less than five years and is now a large and flourishing parish with a modern parish house. Among St. John's richest treasures are the
ancient vestry book and the oldest and most precious communion silver belonging to the Episcopal Church in America. A cup, chalice, and patent brought to Virginia in 1619. They were the gift of one Mistress Robinson in England to the church at Smith's, afterward Southampton, Hundred, which was destroyed during the Indian Massacre of 1622. The silver was preserved by Governor Yardley, and after his death was kept at Jamestown, being finally transferred to Hampton,
probably because the place was named for the same Earl of Southampton who gave his name to Smith's Hundred. It has survived three wars and three great fires. Hampton not only has one of the oldest churches in the United States, but is also the home of the first free school in America established in 1634. This was founded by the will of one Benjamin Sims and was located on the Pocosin River in Elizabeth City County. In 1659, a second free school was established by Thomas
Eaton at the head of Back River in the same county. These two schools were later consolidated under the name of the Sims-Eaton Academy and became a part of the Hampton Public School system in 1851, 20 years before such a system was adopted throughout the South. During the burning of Hampton in 1862, the securities in which the Sims-Eaton Fund had been invested passed safely through fire and flight and siege, owing to the faithful guardianship of Colonel J.C. Phillips of
Hampton, and the interest of this fund of $10,000 is still used to help defray the expenses of the public schools of Elizabeth City County. End of chapter 13.
