Martin's Hundred

This plantation was allocated to the London-based Society of Martin's Hundred by 1618 and was later assigned 21,500 acres. It was initially settled in 1620 around Wolstenholme Town, its administrative center, located near the James River. Archaeologists discovered the town site in 1977. They also located the graves of several people who died during the 22 March 1622 Indian attacks on English settlements coordinated by Chief Opechancanough, when 78 colonists here--half the plantation's population--were reported killed. These attacks were in response to English expansion into Indian lands. The area was soon resettled but the Society of Martin's Hundred's town was never rebuilt.