News Flash

Aug. 9, 2016 - Hampton's 2019 Commemorative Commission, the Virginia 2019 Commemoration, Fort Monroe Authority, National Park Service, Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau and Project 1619 are among the sponsors for a series of activities this year commemorating the arrival of the first Africans in English North America in August of 1619.

In honor of that event, the Hampton History Museum is opening a new exhibit that tells how the Dutch ship named White Lion arrived at Point Comfort - now part of Fort Monroe, in 1619 and delivered "20 and odd negroes" from Angola who were traded for provision and other supplies. Those men would later become either servants or slaves.

The exhibit will be installed in the ships hold of the Port Gallery on the first floor of the museum. It includes new artifacts and images and presents a treasure trove of recent research. There will be free admission Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 21, from 1-5 p.m.

Several other commemorative events are planned for that weekend. Visit the Hampton, Va 2019 Commemorative Commission website for more news about events related to the anniversary, including tours of the ship Godspeed, which will be docked in downtown Hampton, and a special commemorative ceremony in Fort Monroe's Continental Park on Aug. 20.