Stepping Back in Time at Henricus Historical Park

Children exploring at Henricus Historical Park.

Ana Martinez

Just south of Richmond there is a little-known site that’s integral to Virginia’s history: Henricus Historical Park, a wonderful living history museum. Many events that shaped Virginia and our country occurred on or around this stretch of the James River.

It is a fascinating place to visit. You can feel, touch, and smell what it was like to live in an American Indian Arrohateck town, you can enter the houses of early 17th century English colonizers and learn about their life, and you can walk where Civil War military events occurred.

Here are some reasons why Henricus Historical Park is the perfect educational spot to take the family.

Henricus was key to Virginia’s History.

Henricus Historical Park sits in a strategic bend overlooking the James River. The first stewards of this land were American Indians. Here they found good hunting and fishing, protection, and access to other villages along the river.  In the early 1600s, the site was known as Arrohateck Town under the Powhatan Chiefdom, an alliance of tribes throughout Eastern Virginia.

In 1611 a group of English colonists led by Thomas Dale invaded here and built a seven-acre fort. They named it Henricus after Prince Henry, the eldest son of England’s King James. This became the second successful English settlement in America, just a few years after Jamestown’s establishment in 1607.

This is a place where American Indians and colonists interacted–at times in peace and other times in violent conflict. After the English captured Matoaka (also referred to as Pocahontas), the daughter of Chief Powhatan, she was forcibly brought to Henricus. Here the Reverend Whitaker taught her English and introduced her to his religion. Walking through trails on these grounds, she spent her last days at Henricus before being sent to England.

Experience history while learning with your senses

At Henricus Historical Park you can experience history through sight, smell, and touch. Interactive learning through your senses makes absorbing history effortless and fun. This is particularly great for families with young kids. As you walk by replicas of the buildings of this early English settlement, interpreters dressed in period clothing greet you.

“If you bring your children out here, they can touch deerskin and know what it is to run your hands up and down a bow and arrow. There are bonfires going all the time and cooking demonstrations,” John Pagano, Henricus Historical Park Interpretation Supervisor, says. “Kids can put on English armor and break off some herbs from the garden with their hands.”

“When kids visit Henricus Historical Park, they learn through experience,” Pagano said. “They either take away a physical reminder–something they held, they used, even a tool–or a memory,” he said.

You can avoid the crowds and go at a relaxed pace.

Compared to other popular historic sites, Henricus Historical Park doesn’t feel overcrowded or rushed. The place is tranquil, rustic, and surrounded by green forests and the calming James River. “You have a lot of time to spend with the interpreters,” Pagano says. “You never feel rushed or pressed here.”  It is an easy place to visit with the whole family, with gravel walking trails that can accommodate strollers or wheelchairs.

Enjoy an affordable day’s outing for the whole family.

Budget at least two hours to take in the park, but you can easily spend the whole day here. There are several shaded picnic tables around the visitor’s center. Pack a lunch or snacks and enjoy a break here before or after your visit. You can also add on a hike at Dutch Gap Conservation Area next door. Make sure to check the weather and dress appropriately; you will be outdoors throughout your visit. And don’t forget comfortable shoes.

This is an abridged article originally written by Ana Martinez.