English Settlement on Gray's Creek

English settlement along Gray's Creek began by 1609 when Capt. John Smith ordered a defensive fortification built on the tidal creek opposite Jamestown. Though the English did not finish constructing the fort (known as Smith's Fort) and soon abandoned it, an earthwork remains on a high bluff overlooking Gray's Creek. It is believed that Thomas Rolfe, the only child of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, inherited his father's patent along this creek. The stream was named Smith's Fort Creek and then Rolfe's Creek. By 1648 it became known as Gray's Creek for Thomas Gray, who had patented land at the mouth of the creek.