Thanksgiving (United States) 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.
Saint Augustine Fire of 1914 Saint Augustine Fire of 1914 The Saint Augustine Fire destroyed every structure in Saint Augustine, Florida north of the Plaza from Saint George Street to the Bay on the morning of April 2, 1914. The fire claimed six hotels, the opera house, the courthouse, and countless homes and businesses. The fire began in the kitchen boiler room of Florida House on Treasury Street before daybreak. It was first reported by a patrolman named S A McCormick who saw flames from a second floor window while walking his late night beat shortly after 1:00am. The Florida House was engulfed before help