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Roanoke Colony disappears and is called the Lost Colony.
John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply-trip to England to find the settlement deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. -
Jamestown settlement was established.
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the east bank of the Powhatan (James) River. -
Pocahontas and John Rolfe marry.
Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, marries English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia. -
House of Burgess formed.
It became the House of Burgesses — the first legislative assembly in the American colonies. The first assembly met on July 30, 1619, in the church at Jamestown. Present were Governor Yeardley, Council, and 22 burgesses representing 11 plantations (or settlements) Burgesses were elected representatives. -
Plymouth colony was founded.
Plymouth Colony. Plymouth Colony First colonial settlement in New England (founded 1620). The settlers were a group of about 100 Puritan Separatist Pilgrims, who sailed on the Mayflower and settled on what is now Cape Cod bay, Massachusetts. -
Thanksgiving celebration feast is held.
The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. ... Our national holiday really stems from the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag to celebrate the colony's first successful harvest. -
Maryland was founded.
The territory was named Maryland in honor of Henrietta Maria, the queen consort of Charles I. Before settlement began, George Calvert died and was succeeded by his son Cecilius, who sought to establish Maryland as a haven for Roman Catholics persecuted in England. -
Carolina was founded.
South Carolina, part of the original Province of Carolina, was founded in 1663 when King Charles II gave the land to eight noble men known as the Lords Proprietors. At the time, the province included both North Carolina and South Carolina. -
New Jersey Colony was founded.
The New Jersey Colony was founded by Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley in 1664. The New Jersey Colony was originally named the Province of New Jersey, after the British island named Jersey. Prior to 1664 when it was surrendered to the English, the New Jersey Colony region had been ruled by Swedish and Dutch. -
Will Penn established the Pennsylvania Colony.
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 by William Penn. Penn was issued a land grant by King Charles II largely because of a significant debt owed to his father, Admiral Penn. At the time, the grant was one of the largest in terms of area ever known. It was named Pennsylvania, which means Penn's Woods, after Admiral Penn.
