News Release

New Werowocomoco Exhibit Open at Gloucester County Visitor Center

A rendering of Werowocomoco etched in glass leads visitors into the exhibit.

Katey Legg, director of Gloucester Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

News Release Date: April 9, 2021 GLOUCESTER, VIRGINIA

A new, permanent exhibit on Werowocomoco has just opened at the Gloucester County Visitor Center in Gloucester, Va. Residence of Powhatan and the site of the first meetings between Native leaders and English colonists, Werowocomoco was acquired and protected by the National Park Service as part of the Chesapeake Trail in 2016, and is located just a few miles down the road from the visitor center.

The project began three years ago on a much smaller scale, but thanks to a $120,000 grant from NPS, visitors will be treated to a state-of-the-art experience. Staff from the visitor center collaborated with staff from the trail and Moser Productions, Inc., a design company out of Richmond, to develop the exhibit. An image of Werowocomoco etched in three panels of glass greets visitors, and special features include a video on Werowocomoco that can also be found on the trail's website; an interactive timeline of the development of the Virginia Indian tribes, the site itself, and Gloucester County; and a stunning lenticular print image of Pocahontas. "The lenticular image is printed on a special medium that is multi-faceted so that when the viewer moves, the image changes, giving it the feel of a hologram," said Katey Legg, director of Gloucester Parks, Recreation & Tourism. "It's a fantastic piece."

Archeological artifacts from Werowocomoco, on loan from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, can be found along a wall alongside touchscreens that display the artifacts in 3-D imagery. The touchscreens allow the visitor to "spin" the artifacts around to see all angles. An iconic conjectural image of Werowocomoco can be seen behind the artifacts. It shows an artist's bird's-eye view of Werowocomoco around the late 1500s, prior to the arrival of Europeans in present-day Virginia in 1607.

Legg, who played an instrumental role in helping to develop the exhibit, says her fourth-grade son is studying Werowocomoco in his Virginia studies class, so the project was especially meaningful for her. "I hope visitors gain an appreciation for our little town and the role Gloucester County played in the country's history," Legg continues. "Hopefully [the exhibit] will give people a sense of place and pride, because when they have those things, they are much greater advocates for their community."

For more information on the exhibit or directions to the Gloucester County Visitor Center, please go to visitgloucesterva.info or call 1-866-VISITUS (1-866-847-4887).

To learn more about Werowocomoco, check out this recent story in National Parks Traveler.