- Cape Henry
Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of
Virginia in theindependent city of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance toChesapeake Bay .Across the mouth of the bay to the north is
Cape Charles . Named for sons of King James I of England in 1607, together Cape Henry and Cape Charles form theVirginia Capes .History
Cape Henry was named in 1607 in honor of
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales , the eldest son of KingJames I of England , by an expedition of theLondon Company branch of the proprietaryVirginia Company headed by CaptainChristopher Newport . After an unusually long voyage of 144 days from England, it was their first landfall, an event which has come to be called "The First Landing".Captain Newport, with his three ships, "
Susan Constant ", the "Godspeed ", and the "Discovery", and the group of 104 men and boys, subsequently explored inland and established Jamestown which became the first permanent English settlement in North America.Current features
The
Cape Henry Memorial commemorates The First Landing of the settlers that established Jamestown. Nearby, the historicCape Henry Light was the first in the United States. Also of historical interest, the passenger station built in 1902 and served by the original Norfolk Southern Railway was restored late in the 20th century and is used as an educational facility byFort Story , an Army base located at Cape Henry.First Landing State Park occupies the rest of the cape itself, as well as some of the nearby area.External links
* [http://www.nps.gov/came/ NPS Cape Henry website]
* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/nhl/capehenr.htm Cape Henry Lighthouse info]
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