Berkeley Plantation’s story begins in 1619 as Berkeley Hundred, a settlement established by English colonists. Upon their arrival, they held a thanksgiving prayer service, marking what some consider the first official Thanksgiving in America. The early years were marked by hardship, including conflicts with the Powhatan Confederacy. In 1726, Benjamin Harrison IV built the grand Georgian mansion that stands today. The plantation thrived, growing tobacco and other crops, and became the birthplace of prominent figures like Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S.