Cape Henry Memorial & First Landing Cross

North End

Cape Henry Memorial & First Landing Cross is a attraction in North End, Virginia Beach, best for colonial-history pilgrims, pairing with a Cape Henry Lighthouse visit.

This quarter-acre National Park Service site — part of Colonial National Historical Park — marks where the Jamestown colonists first came ashore in April 1607 and raised a wooden cross before sailing on up the James River. Today a granite memorial cross, erected in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists, stands in its place, alongside a statue of Admiral Comte de Grasse and a granite memorial to the 1781 Battle of the Capes, the French naval victory fought within sight of this shore that sealed Cornwallis's fate at Yorktown. A walkway leads to the top of the dunes for a view over the meeting of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic. IMPORTANT: like the neighboring Cape Henry Lighthouse, the memorial sits inside Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story, an active military base — the same base access rules apply (REAL ID, security check at Gate 8, rules that change with security posture), so verify current civilian access before visiting.

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Last verified 2026-07-10.

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