tan village that stood in a field of 100 acres on the “Strawberry Bank,” having John’s Creek as its eastern boundary. Its situation was thus identical with that of the present Soldiers’ Home. A mile further east was Fort Charles. Each of these forts, in 1613, had fifteen soldiers, but no ordnance; and, in 1614, Captain George Webb was the principal commander of both. In the latter year, Hamor describes them as “goodly seats and much corn about them, abounding with the commodities of fish, fowle, Deere and fruits, whereby the men lived there with halfe that maintenance out of the store which in other places is allowed.” In 1616, John Rolfe reported that there were at Kecoughtan twenty-one men including Captain Webb, and of the number Mr. William Mease was minister and eleven were farmers, who maintained themselves.
The year 1619 saw great changes made in the government of Virginia. Hitherto the settlers were only soldiers and martial law prevailed. Now the free laws of England were proclaimed, and to every man was assigned a certain area of land. On July 30, a general assembly met at Jamestown, according to the summons of the governor, in which William Tucker and William Capps, prominent colonists, were the representatives for Kecoughtan. Four corporations were established to include all the settlements. The region from the bay on both sides of the river, to Chuckatuck on the south side and to Skiffe’s Creek on the North side constituted Elizabeth City Corporation, a name preferred by the inhabitants to the heathen name of Kecoughtan and bestowed in honor of King James’ daughter Elizabeth, the Queen of Bohemia. In pursuance of the command of the London Company to set aside certain areas in each corporation for public uses, the government appropriated for Elizabeth City the land from the mouth of Hampton River to the Bay. Three thousand acres were reserved for the Company’s own use; 1500 acres for the common use, and 100 acres for a glebe. Tenants were placed upon these lands for the public benefit. Of this stretch of country the portion from Hampton River to the beginning of the modern Mill Creek was called “Strawberry Bank,” a name suggestive of the abundant growth of a luscious berry well known to a Virginia table and the portion along Mill Creek
