African Arrival Commemoration and Fort Monroe Visitor and Education Center Dedication
To commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in English North America, the 2019 Commemoration presents a ceremony with hosts Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) and the National Park Service (NPS). The Fort Monroe Visitor and Education Center project involves the renovation of the former Coast Artillery School Library at Fort Monroe and the addition of two wings. The galleries will tell the profound stories of Captain John Smith, the arrival of the first enslaved Africans and the culmination of 242 years of slavery as the first contrabands came to Fort Monroe to receive their emancipation. Additional activities at Fort Monroe during the weekend will include a remembrance ceremony, historical tours, cultural demonstrations, and a concert.
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Dominion Energy is the presenting partner of the Fort Monroe Visitor and Education Center.
Click below to download the 1/26/17 presentation.
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Shortly after Virginia succeeded from the Union, Fort Monroe stayed in Union control throughout the American Civil War. Major General Benjamin F Butler would be put in charge as commander of Fort Monroe..
For the majority of the hundreds of self-emancipators, they would make their new lives and homes in the burned ruins of Hampton. It became known as the Grand Contraband Camp, or also referred to as Slabtown, with all of the contraband and refugee families.
Indigenous tribes have occupied this land, which they called Tsencammacah (tsen- a- com – macah) for thousands of years before European colonization and settlement. The most prominent Indigenous tribe in this area was the Kikotan – who were a part of the Powhatan Chiefdom, including other tribes such as Pamunkey and Nansemond.
This status represents the many women who were forceably brought to Virgnia in 1619. The commander at the time, Captain William Tucker, takes Antony and Isabella, who would later have the first documented child born of African descent, William, in 1624.
In 1619 at Point Comfort is where the First Africans landed in English-speaking Virginia. They were captured and enslaved from the Kingdom of Ndongo in what is modern day Angola.
Fort Monroe Weather Updates:
For the safety of our staff, volunteers and guests the Visitor Center and Casemate Museum will be closed all day on Sunday, January 25th due to inclement weather
