Thanksgiving services were routine in what became the Commonwealth of Virginia as early as 1607 , with the first permanent settlement of Jamestown , Virginia holding a thanksgiving in 1610 . In 1619 , 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County , Virginia . The group 's London Company charter specifically required " that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned ... in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God . " Three years later , after the Indian massacre of 1622 , the Berkeley Hundred site and other outlying locations were abandoned and colonists moved their celebration to Jamestown and other more secure spots
Indian massacre of 1622
Indian massacre of 1622
Thanksgiving (United States)