Elizabeth City Parish, today's Hampton Roads
Entries from 1751 - 1831
St. John’s is the fourth building to serve Elizabeth City Parish and is the oldest building in Hampton.
The first church, Kecoughtan Church, was erected circa 1613-1616, near what is now Hampton Institute. The second and third church buildings, circa1624 and 1667, were replaced by the current building when, in 1727, the governor decided a new church should be built within the city of Hampton. It was completed in 1728.
The church was damaged in 1775 during the British bombardment of Hampton, and again in 1812, when British troops ransacked the building. In 1861, retreating Confederates burned the town and the church, leaving only the walls standing. It was later reconstructed.
ref: https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/114-0001/
Elizabeth City Parish, the first half of the Vestry Book in our archive, is perhaps the oldest parish in the New World. It was founded in 1610, when settlers from Jamestown moved seven miles to the north, took the town of Kecoughton from the Kecoughtan Indians, and founded a house of worship. In 1619, one of the first acts of the first meeting of the House of Burgesses was to change the name of Kecoughtan to Elizabeth City. The town was called Kecoughton for years to come despite the official name change. Today it is known as Hampton.
The mother church in Elizabeth City Parish is now called St. John's Episcopal Church.