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Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was founded in 1607. Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement. Most the first settlers died from hunger, disease and surprise Indian attacks. If it wasn't for a leader named John Smith, the colony would have failed completely. -
Massachusetts
The Colony of Massachusetts was founded in 1620. In 1620, around 40 Pilgrims got on a ship called the Mayflower because they wanted to travel to the New World for religious freedom. They ended up in Plymouth. A lot of people died during the first harsh winter. An Indian named Squanto taught them how to grow crops. The next year, they celebrated the first Thanksgiving. -
New Hampshire
The Colony of New Hampshire was founded in 1623. Captain John Smith was the first man to claim the area of New Hampshire for England in 1614. They grew crops, raised farm animals, and fished along the coast. -
New York
The Colony of New York was founded in 1624. Henry Hudson explored this new land and called it New Netherland. The Dutch claimed this land and also founded New Amsterdam on the island we call Manhattan. The English took New Netherland from the Dutch and renamed it New York. -
Connecticut
The Colony of Connecticut was founded in 1633. Adriaen Black was the first Dutch to explore this new land. He gave it the Indian name Quinnenhtukqut, which was later named Connecticut. Thomas Hooker, who was a Puritan, came to Massachusetts from Holland. He lead thousands of people through Connecticut to march for religious freedom. -
Maryland
The Colony of Maryland was founded in 1634. Maryland was named in honor of King Charles the first's wife, Henrietta Maria. The first settlement in Maryland was named St. Mary's. -
Rhode Island
The Colony of Rhode Island was founded in 1636. Roger Williams, a Puritan leader, believed in freedom of religion. He left the colony of Massachusetts so he wouldn't get arrested for his beliefs. He wanted to create a government that would be separate from the church. He bought some land and named it Providence. -
Delaware
The Colony of Delaware was founded in 1638. In 1601 an English sea captain named Samuel Argall was caught in a big storm in the same bay explored by Henry Hudson. He named it in honor of Lord de la Warr, the governor of Virginia. Delaware eventually became an English royal colony. -
Pennsylvania
The Colony of Pennsylvania was founded in 1643. The settlement of New Sweden was created in 1643 by Swedish colonists. New Sweden is near the city we call today, Philadelphia. In 1681 King Charles II gave the land to his friend William Penn. Penn named the colony Pennsylvania which meant, 'Penn's woods.' The city he created was called Philadelphia and it means 'City of Brotherly Love' in Greek. -
North Carolina
The Colony of North Carolina was founded in 1653. Sir Walter Raleigh created a settlement in what is now North Carolina. The settlement on Roanoke Island vanished and no one knows what happened to the original settlers of that colony. -
New Jersey
The Colony of New Jersey was founded in 1660. In 1609 Henry Hudson explored the coast of New Jersey, making it a Dutch settlement. The King of England gave his brother, James, this land. James then gave it to his two friends. The friends named the land New Jersey because one of them was from the British Isle of Jersey. -
South Carolina
The Colony of South Carolina was founded in 1670. In 1629, King Charles named the land Carolana after himself. In 1663 his son, King Charles II renamed the land Carolina. In 1669, English noblemen startled a settlement in Carolina which they called Charles Town. We now call this place Charleston, South Carolina. -
Georgia
The Colony of Georgia was founded in 1733. The colony of Georgia was named in honor of King George II by a man named James Oglethorpe. He traveled with some other colonists to make a better life. They found some land and called it Savannah. He hoped to make Georgia a perfect place to live.
