Richmond's Natal Day Commemoration
Saturday, May 23, 2026 @ Powhatan Hill Park
Resuming the recognition of May 23, 1607 as Richmond’s Natal Day, signifying the importance of the meeting on that date between English Captains Christopher Newport and John Smith with members of the Powhatan Indians on a Richmond hill christened Powhatan Hill in 1930 by the City of Richmond, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Virginia tribal leaders led by Pamunkey Chief George Major Cook.
Richmond's Natal Day Background
On May 23, 1930 a grand pageant was presented by the Powhatan Hill Memorial Association including a re-enactment of the May 23, 1607 meeting between the English and the Powhatan Indians, including an appearance by Paramount Chief Powhatan himself. The May 24, 1930 Richmond Times Dispatch coverage of the event included a large photo of the crowd and an article that included:
• Top headline:
Indians And Pale Faces Smoke Peace Pipe On Powhatan Hill
• Sub headline:
Arrival of First White Men Re-Enacted as Fulton Hill Is Renamed in Honor of Scene Where Smith and Christopher Newport Landed
• Article:
“The arrival of the first white men and their greeting by the Indians at the site of Richmond was re-enacted before a crowd of 5,000 yesterday afternoon which attended the ceremonies incident to giving Fulton Park the historic name of Powhatan’s Hill. Chief Cook of the Pamunkey Tribe christened the ground while representatives of the other tribes still surviving in Virginia and descendants of the Englishmen who absorbed their dominion looked on.”
Many other tribal chiefs joined Chief Cook and the event included addresses from Virginia Governor John Garland Pollard, Richmond Mayor J. Fulmer Bright and Dr. Lyon G. Tyler, son of US President John Tyler, whom the Governor introduced as “the man who knows most about Virginia history” and who traced the settlement of the colony, the founding of Richmond and the relations of the new inhabitants with the natives.
Four years later, after annual May 23rd commemorations in 1931-33, the Powhatan Hill Memorial Association presented an unveiling ceremony on May 23, 1934 for a bronze tablet (shown above) installed in the stone wall of Powhatan Hill along Williamsburg Avenue. The May 24, 1934 Richmond News Leader coverage of the event included the photo at the top of this page and the following:
• Photo headline:
AT UNVEILING OF MARKER ON POWHATAN HILL
• Photo caption:
“Governor Peery was photographed while addressing members of the Powhatan Hill Memorial Association and chiefs of the Indian tribes near Richmond at exercises held yesterday in commemoration of Richmond’s natal day, at which a tablet marking Powhatan Hill was unveiled. In the photograph are, left to right – Mrs. J. Vernon Rice, Mrs. George C. Peery, wife of the Governor; Mrs. G.T.W. Kern, chairman; Mrs. Henry P. Garber, president of the association; Chief E. P. Bradley, of the eastern branch of the Chickahominy tribe; Chief Paul Miles, of the Pamunkey tribe; Governor Peery and Mayor Bright. [News Leader photo by Dementi.]”
The News Leader article included:
• Top headline:
Indians, Whites Join in Ceremony
• Sub headline:
Governor, Mayor and Tribal Chiefs Celebrate City’s Natal Day
The Powhatan Hill Memorial Association continued to present the May 23rd Richmond’s Natal Day commemoration throughout the 1930’s and early 40’s with annual participation by Richmond and Virginia leaders as well as chiefs and members of Virginia’s Indian tribes. It appears World War II put an end to the annual affair and it was never resumed, UNTIL NOW!
Resuming the annual Richmond’s Natal Day commemoration on May 23rd
The Pocahontas Project (TPP) believes the May 23, 1607 meeting on Powhatan Hill was a foundational moment for the community of Richmond, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America – an event worthy of annual commemoration. Equally important, on May 23, 1607 Powhatan Hill was a place of welcoming, a place of peace between two cultures, just as it was on May 23rd during the 1930’s. Along with recognizing Richmond’s seminal moment, TPP believes May 23rd should be annually recognized in the name of peace and cross-cultural understanding, with special attention to the history, culture and future of Virginia’s Indian Tribes.
TPP believes that 2026, America’s and Virginia’s 250th, is the perfect time to resume the annual May 23rd Richmond’s Natal Day commemoration and celebration, turning it into an annual public affair on Powhatan Hill.
2026 Richmond’s Natal Day Commemoration – Details to be announced
• Saturday May 23, 2026 @ Powhatan Hill Park – 5051 Northampton Street, RVA 23231
For more information contact Rick Tatnall / The Pocahontas Project
