Chickahominy Indian Tribe lives on ancestral land in Virginia

The Chickahominy are still vibrant as a community on land between the Chickahominy and James River in Charles City County, Virginia, near where their ancestors lived.

The tribe has over 800 members, making it the second largest of Virginia’s Indian tribes. Hundreds of its members live within a few miles of each other -- the tribe owns about 110 acres subdivided into family lots. At its center are the Chickahominy Tribal Center and Samaria Baptist Church, formerly the Samaria Indian Church, once a school for Indian children.

Annual Pow-Wow

Thousands of people from across the United States attend the Chickahominy’s annual Pow-Wow held on Tribal Center grounds each September. The public is welcome to watch the Chickahominny Tribal Dancers perform traditional dances that have been passed down through many generations. Members often wear traditional dress known as regalia to the fall festival. One of the highlights is the crowning of Miss Chickahominy, Junior Miss Chickahominy and Little Miss Chickahominy.

The first weekend in May the Chickahominy host the Six Nations Pow-Wow, and the tribe holds a crab fest each October.

The Tribal Center is located at 8200 Lott Cary Road in Charles City County.

The tribe is governed by a chief, two assistant chiefs and an elected Tribal Council which includes both men and women.

The Chickahominy were an Algonquian tribe and at times allied itself with the famous Chief Powhatan.

To see a slide show of the Tribal Center grounds, visit : http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/chickahominy-indian-tribe-lives-on-ancestral-land-virginia

Bald eagles are a sight to behold on Virginia’s James River

The majestic bald eagle is making a comeback in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and tourists can see the magnificent birds in their natural habitat by taking a boat tour on the James River.

Capt. Mike Ostrander runs the bald eagle tours year-round on his Discovery Barge II, a 24-foot covered pontoon boat that seats six passengers. He guides tourists to a number of nesting pairs south of Richmond. The Center for Conservation Biology estimates that Virginia’s breeding population of bald eagles is now around 650 pairs, up from under 30 in the late 1970s.

The sightseeing excursion to see the nation’s symbol – the bald eagle graces the Great Seal of the United States – lasts two hours and includes commentary. Bald eagles mate for life and share a nest, which they may continue to construct year after year. Their distinctive white crowns and tail feathers appear around age 4 or 5, and the birds live to around age 30.

Launch sites for this unique boat tour include the Richmond Yacht Basin and Deep Bottom Landing in Henrico County. The cost is $40 per person. The boat tours run from 7 – 9 a.m. and 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on specified dates listed on the “Discover the James” website or can be scheduled by calling Capt. Mike at 804.938.2350.

In addition to bald eagle tours, tourists can book river wildlife tours, a Civil War river tour, and the John Smith water trail as well as fishing trips or fishing instruction.

To see pictures of eagles, visit the article online.

2011 is the “Year of Henricus” as America’s second settlement turns 400

It’s been proclaimed the “Year of Henricus” as America’s second successful English settlement moves into its fifth century.

The year was 1611 when the London Company sent Sir Thomas Dale to Virginia to relocate the colony’s seat from Jamestown to a more secure upriver location. Spain at the time was hostile with England, and Jamestown was located in swampland. So it was that the “Citie of Henricus” was established on a bluff on the James River below the falls of present-day Richmond (pictured here).

It was in the Henricus settlement where private land ownership for common people was first introduced in America, and it was here where Pocahontas made her first English home. The first English hospital was developed at Henricus, and this is where North America’s first college was chartered. Tobacco was established as a cash crop here, becoming the first successful export of what would become the United States of America.

Today there is a living history museum on the site.

400^th Anniversary Commemoration Events

Henricus Historical Park is commemorating the 400^th anniversary in 2011 with a number of events.

On March 26 and 27, the origins of America’s educational system will be highlighted – Henricus College was founded in 1619 – along with the Indian attack led by Chief Powhatan’s brother and successor which destroyed the Citie of Henricus in 1622.

On May 7 and 8, medical care at America’s first hospital – Mount Malady – will be featured with a focus on the workers who were patients there.

Tobacco is the topic on July 23 and 24 with the spotlight on the lives of those who worked the fields, indentured servants and African slaves.

September is the actual 400^th anniversary of the settlement’s establishment, and a hundred living history interpreters from across the nation will be on hand to celebrate it. Dubbed “Public Days and the Godspeed”, it is a special event planned for the 17^th and 18^th.

Henricus Historical Park is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Tuesday through Saturday and is located at 251 Henricus Park Road in Chester, Virginia. There is a fee of $8 for adults and $6 for children 3-12.

http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/2011-is-the-year-of-henricus-as-america-s-2nd-settlement-celebrates-400-yea

Hanover Tavern is an experience in Southern elegance

Hanover Tavern is a beautifully restored structure from yesteryear that offers multi-faceted entertainment today. Owned by the Hanover Tavern Foundation, this historic building is the site of history, theatre, and fine Southern dining.

Guests can take a self-guided tour of the 1733 structure using brochures available on the ground floor. Or guided tours can be scheduled if visitors want to hear stories about the tavern’s famous guests along with the building’s remarkable architecture.

Making its home at Hanover Tavern is Barksdale Theatre, a separate entity and partner with the foundation. On stage now through February 6 is Nunsense by Dan Goggin, an award-winning comedy about nuns who conduct a fundraiser for fellow sisters’ funerals when their cook accidentally poisons some of them.

Christmas Eve Dinner

A full service restaurant is open at Hanover Tavern six days a week. Due to its popularity, reservations are recommended. The tavern specializes in classic Southern foods with modern adaptations. Many theatre goers enjoy an evening of dinner and theatre in this gracious setting.

The restaurant will serve a special Christmas Eve dinner from 4:30 until 8:30 p.m. To make reservations, call 804-537-5050. 

The Colonial tavern is located in Hanover’s quaint courthouse town about 20 miles north of Richmond at 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road directly across the street from the courthouse. The restaurant serves lunch (weekdays), brunch (weekends) and dinner Tuesday through Sunday when the historic tavern is open to visitors.

Irvington Virginia is a town for the ages

Irvington was a steamboat town on Virginia’s Northern Neck that fell on hard times after the fire of 1917 as the steamboat era came to a close. You would never know it now - Irvington made a grand comeback, reinventing itself as a waterfront community and the place to go in the Chesapeake Bay area.

The Tides Inn is a resort in Irvington that epitomizes southern graciousness on it Carter’s Creek location overlooking the Rappahannock River. With its own spa, marina, restaurants, cruises on a historic yacht and an18-hole golf course, the Tides Inn is a destination in itself.

Not to be outdone, Irvington’s Hope and Glory Inn is one of the highest rated inns in America with recommendations too numerous to mention. This boutique inn has seven rooms and 13 cottages in a unique and memorable setting.

Irvington has another golf course, the Tartan Club, designed by none other than Sir Guy Cambell of St. Andrews, Scotland in 1959 – the only golf course he designed in America. And the town’s newest golf course, the King Carter, has been recommended by Golf Digest.

History comes alive

On King Carter Drive visitors can relive life in the age of steam – Irvington’s Steamboat Era Museum features the boats themselves, what the landings were like, and the people who rode and worked on them.

Historic Christ Church built by Robert “King” Carter in the 1730s is an awesome architectural experience in Irvington and a National Historic Landmark that visitors should not miss.

The town is also known for its boutique shopping experience. There are a number of interesting shops worth visiting in Irvington.

The town also hosts a farmer’s market the first Saturday of every month from April through December from 8 a.m. until noon at the Irvington Commons Green that is quite an experience.

And the White Fences Vineyard and Winery is just outside Irvington’s town limits.

A lot of holiday events are coming up in Irvington including a number of events at Tide’s Inn.

Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe persists into the 21st century

The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe has been living in the same location for over four centuries – on the upper Mattaponi River in Virginia up river from the Mattaponi Indian Reservation.

This band of Indians did not belong to the reservation and is distinctly identified in 17^th century records in a settlement that later became known as Adamstown, probably named after a British interpreter working with them in the early 18^th century. They own 32 acres there today.

Grouped with the neighboring Pamunkey Indians in the county educational system for years, the Upper Mattaponi got their own Indian school in 1917. It was initially a one-room schoolhouse providing primary instruction and limited secondary education, and the Indian families had to provide the furniture. In 1952, the building was replaced with an eight-room schoolhouse.

Sharon Indian School operated until 1965 when the county’s three separate school systems – for black, white and Indian children -- were integrated. After segregation ended, the Indians were allowed to complete high school close to home.

Historical marker

“The students at Sharon Indian School had to attend other Native American, private, or public institutions, usually outside the Commonwealth, to obtain high school diplomas. Upper Mattaponi students – and students from the Rappahannock Tribe in the 1960s – attended school here until June 1965. It was one of the last Indian schools to operate in Virginia.”

The Sharon Indian School building today remains integral to Upper Mattaponi life in its use as a tribal center. The tribe hosts an annual pow-wow in the spring with native drumming, dancing, food and games that is open to the public. Next door is their church, the Indian View Baptist Church which was built in 1942.

The Upper Mattaponi Tribe officially organized in 1921 and was recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1983.

The Upper Mattaponi tribal grounds are located on Route 30 south of Route 360 in King William County.

Smithfield hams provide holiday hospitality

Smithfield hams are a holiday tradition in Virginia, and where else to shop for them but in Smithfield, Virginia itself!

Smithfield hams are trademarks of Southern hospitality. These hams are salted and dry cured, slowly smoked with hickory, and aged. They are best sliced paper thin and go great with dainty biscuits. State law in Virginia and USDA regulations both require that the “Smithfield” designation be limited to hams produced there.

Smithfield celebrates its three centuries of ham history at the Isle of Wight County Museum just 73 miles from Richmond. Admission is free.

From there check out Darden’s Country Store where you can tour a real family smokehouse. Plan to have lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants that feature Smithfield ham. And don’t forget your ham! Darden’s has them or you can go by the Genuine Ham Shoppe in downtown Smithfield.

Come Saturday, November 20, the Olde Town Curb Market’s “Thanksgiving” specialty event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in Smithfield, and it’s no small event, a shopper’s paradise.

The intense flavor of Smithfield hams comes from the curing and aging process. The mold is harmless. Just scrub the uncooked ham with hot water and a stiff brush. You’ll want to soak it overnight or even 24 hours or longer to remove salt, depending on your taste, changing the water a few times.

To prep the ham, soak it overnight or longer to remove salt, changing the water a few times. Use a stiff brush to scrub off the harmless mold.

For cooking directions, check out my article:

http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/smithfield-hams-provide-holiday-hospitality