Located at the present-day site of Fort Monroe and separated from Hampton's mainland by Mill Creek, Old Point Comfort is a fitting place to begin your heritage tour.

John Rolfe recorded in August 1619, the vessel Treasurer arrived at Point Comfort with twenty and odd Africans. The ship was believed to have left one African at Point Comfort, a woman by the name of Angela. It is further believed that the captain of the Treasurer attempted to barter his cargo for food at the small Kecoughtan settlement. Having no success, he proceeded up the James River where he sold the Africans, likely as indentured servants, at Jamestown. Based on data from trade routes of the time, these first Africans arriving in America in 1619 are believed to have been from Angola on Africa's West Coast.

In addition to reflecting on the 1619 landing, you will want to explore all of Fort Monroe, a Union-held fortification where thousands of slaves sought shelter during the Civil War. Fort Monroe earned the name Freedom's Fortress as a result.

During the Civil War on May 23, 1861, Major General Benjamin F. Butler accepted three runaway slaves seeking their freedom, declaring them "contraband of war." The men, Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townsend were from the plantation of Col. Charles King Mallory of Hampton. Butler argued that since the slaves were being used as chattel property, they fit the definition of contraband and he had the right to seize them.

News of this extraordinary development spread. Hampton's Fort Monroe quickly earned the nickname "Freedom's Fortress." By the end of July 1861, over 900 slaves had escaped to Fort Monroe. Thousands more would follow. This extraordinary occurrence shaped the community that would become the City of Hampton.