America's First Distillers and
The James River

SPIRITS Museum is pleased to present our latest virtual exhibition: America’s First Distillers and The James River. This is the first of three exhibitions in a series that centers Virginia as the birthplace of American spirits, highlighting the state’s long history of liquor production. In this exhibition, we take a look at early English settlements established along the James River and discuss how their residents became the country’s first distillers, bringing both distillation equipment and technical know-how across the Atlantic.

The first successful English settlement in America was Jamestown, founded 1607 on the James River near modern-day Williamsburg. From there, more settlements appeared along the river as land patents were granted to planters. We know distillation was being practiced at Jamestown from its inception, but what evidence exists from other colonies? Explore the exhibition in our virtual gallery below to find out.

Tsenacomoco - Paramount Chiefdom

While America’s first distillers were settling on the banks of the James, indigenous tribes encountered a new threat to their way of life. At the time Jamestown was founded, the Powhatan chiefdom had united a majority of the tribes across a large part of Virginia. This alliance was called Tsenacomoco; under the chiefdom, tribes had their own werowances [leaders] who pledged fealty to the paramount chief Powhatan. Powhatan tried to incorporate the English settlers into Tsenacomoco, but this ultimately failed and the first Anglo-Powhatan war soon began. Over the next hundred years, many Virginia Indians were either killed or displaced, including those forced out of their ancestral homes along the James. The import of distillation technology and its practitioners signified the genesis of an American spirits industry, but it also marked the beginning of a long history of oppression and subjugation over indigenous communities.

Works

: Mark Tiddeman (c. 1724 – c. 1760), A Draught of Virginia from the Capes to York in York River and to Kuiquotan or Hamton in James River, 1729, Black and white line engraving, Overall: 18 1/2 × 23 1/2 in., Collection of: Colonial Williamsburg, VA

: Unknown cartographer for author Thomas J. Wertenbaker, Dale’s Settlements on The Upper James, 1914, Engraving, From: Virginia Under The Stuarts by Thomas J. Wertenbaker

: Earthenware Distilling Flask and Glass Alembic Fragment, c. 1610, Earthenware and glass, Image courtesy of Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia)

: Crucible with Glass, c. 1607-1610, Earthenware, Origin: Grossalmerode, Germany, Recovered at Pit 1, Jamestown Fort, Image courtesy of Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia)

: Luigi Castiglioni (Italian, 1757-1832), Il Sassafras, 1792, Engraving, Collection of: The John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Providence, R.I.

: Thomas Ward Still, Contemporary Reproduction, Martin’s Hundred, James City County, Virginia Originally produced: c. 1621, Ceramic, 23 1/2 x 13 x 13 inches, Collection of: SPIRITS Museum, Williamsburg, VA

: Locally made alembic in situ on Site A., Earthenware, c. 1621, Created at Martin’s Hundred, Virginia Image sourced from “Martin’s Hundred” by Ivor Noël Hume, 1982, p. 101

: Detail of fill in Southwest corner of basement of Structure III (44PG151/2/3) showing stains of wood timbers and intact wine bottles on brick floor. Photo taken from North. Plate 6, Archaeological Excavations at Jordan’s Point: Sites 44PG151, 44PG300, 44PG302, 44PG303, 44PG315, 44PG333, 1995, by Tim Morgan, et. all Image courtesy of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources

: Benjamin Henry Latrobe (American, 1764-1820), View of the City of Richmond From the Bank of the James River, 1798, Watercolor on paper, 7 x 10 ½ in., Courtesy of the Maryland Center for History and Culture, 1960.108.1.3.34

: Berkeley’s Mill Bottle, c. 1700s, Uncovered in Charles City, Virginia, Glass, 9 7/8 x 5 inches, Collection of: SPIRITS Museum, Williamsburg, VA

: Benjamin Henry Latrobe (American, 1764-1820), Lower End of the Falls of James River, Virginia, c. 1796-98, Watercolor on paper, 7 x 10 ½ in., Courtesy of the Maryland Center for History and Culture, 1960.108.1.1.32.

: Theodor de Bry (1528-1598), While the Indians are seeking peace from the English, two of King Powhatan’s sons visit their sister, 1619, Engraving, published by Hieronymus Galler, Oppenheim, 5 3/8 x 7 3/8 in., Collection of: John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I.

: Theodor de Bry (1528-1598), The Chickahominy, as subjects of the King of England, swear an oath of allegiance to the Captain Argall, 1619, Engraving, published by Hieronymus Galler, Oppenheim, 6 x 7 in., Collection of: John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I.