Following this , the English made no attempt to settle any higher than Henricus ( in modern Chesterfield County ) , which lasted from 1611 until the Indian massacre of 1622 . Following the Second Anglo-Powhatan War of 1644 – 45 , the Powhatan tribes signed a peace treaty in 1646 ceding the settlers all territory below the Fall Line , from the Blackwater River to the York River . At this time , the colony built Fort Charles at the falls of the James , near where the legal frontier was for over half a century . After two years , the site of Fort Charles was relocated to '' Manastoh '' on the South Side of the river ( later known as Manchester , Virginia ) , where the ground was considered slightly more fertile
Indian massacre of 1622
Indian massacre of 1622
History of Richmond, Virginia