I
n the heart of Virginia’s vast and wondrous Tidewater region, lies Gloucester County, Virginia—which has been at the heart of American history from the very outset, in ways that might surprise you. Indeed, Gloucester has seen the influence, clash and co-existence of diverse native and international populations during decisive moments in American, Colonial and World History. Truly, legend, lore and intrigue all come together in Gloucester. From ages past to the present day she has been a place of firsts and lasts. She is an ever-evolving but ever enchanting part of the vast Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia. The lands, rivers and waterways known to encompass, flow through and border modern-day Gloucester were inhabited by Native American hunter/ gatherers for thousands of years before the first Spanish missionaries or English settlers arrived here. They were the very first to know how lovely, rich and fertile this area was. In our lifetime, no eye has seen what lush beauty and natural abundance must have existed for these early inhabitants and settlers. It is through Gloucester that the
remainder of the Middle Peninsula, Northern Neck and points beyond were settled. It was truly a gateway for those Native American and English “first families” whose names we still recognize to this very day and whose sons and daughters have gone on to directly and indirectly change and enrich the lives of future generations of Americans. History comes to life when we examine it through the eyes of those who lived it, witnessed it and recorded it, so many years ago. To write merely an article on Gloucester County history is a difficult task indeed, as there is so much to tell. VOLUMES simply cannot contain it all, but I will try my best to hit the high points and leave the rest for another day. The intrigue and human drama attached to Gloucester’s history is remarkably full of twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
On Your Mark, Get Set, Sail
The race was on as the late sixteenth century saw increased nautical explora- tion and territorial expansion around the world by the major seafaring super- powers of the day. With that said—
The House & Home Magazine
Gloucester saw some of these visionaries, explorers and privateers in an up-close and personal way.
The first “known” Europeans, to
explore the waters of the Chesapeake Bay were the Spanish who accidentally encountered it while searching for an inland passage to Asia. Later, in 1524, Giovanni de Verrazano, an Italian in the employ of France, named the Chesapeake Bay the “Bahia de Santa Maria.” In 1562, Spanish cartographer Diego Gutierrez drew the first known map of the Chesapeake Bay. John White, an Englishman and governor of the vanished Roanoke Colony had also drawn maps of the Chesapeake Bay including details of the James and York Rivers. He also created watercolor renderings of native life, plants, animals and more that aided future expeditions— all before the dawn of the seventeenth century. These amazing resources and first-hand accounts must have been seen and utilized by Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith, who would later make their own mark on the New World and on Gloucester. John Smith’s map of the Chesapeake Bay would include the area now known as Gloucester and was by far the most accurate and detailed of all the Chesapeake Bay maps of the day. With the Spanish steadily colonizing
vast areas of the Caribbean, Mexico and portions of Florida, it was only a matter of time before they would make their mark in Virginia, unless someone beat them to it!
Spanish Jesuits Come to Gloucester
Around 1560 a young American Indian, said to be the son of a Native American Chief, was abducted out of coastal waters by the Spanish. Without a choice in the matter, he traveled to St. Augustine, Havana, and Mexico where he was educated and baptized Don Louis de Valasco. He was later sent to Madrid, Spain where he received additional education and had an audience with King Phillip II. It is said that he spoke continually of his homeland, near the present day York River. Although they had removed the boy from his native country, they could not remove “the country” from the boy.
The day eventually came when the young man’s captors sought to capitalize on his knowledge of his fellow natives, their language and the land from whence he had been taken—over ten years earlier. In 1570, a band of nine Jesuits led by Father Juan Baptista de Segura, Don Louis and one little Cuban boy named Alonso set sail to evangelize and convert the natives in the York river area of Virginia, using Don Louis as their interpreter/guide. It is doubtful that
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