Wowinchapuncke
Wowinchapuncke was the chief of the Paspahegh
Indians when the English established Jamestown
in the tribe’s territory in 1607. He consistently
resisted the English intrusion, earning both
respect and hostility from Jamestown leaders.
Captured and imprisoned at Jamestown, he
escaped, and the English retaliated by killing
several Paspahegh men. After the English
destroyed a Paspahegh town in August 1610
and executed Wowinchapuncke’s wife and
children, he continued to harass the English
until he was killed in a skirmish near Jamestown
in February 1611. In 1991, the archaeological
remains of a large Paspahegh community near
here were excavated.
Marker is on John Tyler Highway (Virginia Route 5) ½ mile west of Barretts Ferry Road, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
