The Historic 1666 Route of the Patawomeck Women Book Tour with Lora Chilton
In 1666, in their efforts to steal the land of the Patawomeck people in what is now Virginia, colonists massacred the men of the Patawomeck tribe and took the women and children as slaves, marching them to the coast to slave ships that would take most of them to their deaths in the brutal sugar fields of the Barbados.
In the new book 1666: A Novel, author Lora Chilton, a member of the tribe, imagines the legendary story behind the tribe’s survival based on written colonial records and tribal oral tradition. This fictionalized reimagining is told from the point of view of the two women who managed to escape slavery in Barbados and separately make their way back to Virginia. Their escape and return is why the tribe is in existence today.
To honor the women who suffered this ordeal and to pay tribute to the tribe’s ultimate survival in part because of these two courageous women, author Lora Chilton’s book tour will follow this imagined route from Fredericksburg through Richmond and Williamsburg to Hampton in Virginia.
The 1666 book tour will launch on April 20 at the Patawomeck Museum and Cultural Center with the 1666 Commemorate Day event. Ceremonies and festivities will run from 11 to 3 and include demonstrations of the Patawomeck traditions and culture, interviews with elders, speeches from those who are introducing the new bill recognizing the tribe, a 1666 book talk and book signing with Chilton, plus access to the museum, and much more.
From there, Chilton will make stops at Book People in Henrico on April 23, Barnes & Noble in Williamsburg on April 26 and then end with a presentation at the Hampton Historical Society in Hampton on April 27. She’ll be livestreaming and posting on social media along the way. (The livestream schedule appears below.)
This tour will be followed by a mini tour in Northern Virginia May 8 through 11 with stops at Fonts Books and Gifts in McLean (Friday, May 9) and Winchester Book Gallery in Winchester (Saturday, May 10).
AUTHOR LORA CHILTON
At each event, Lora will share how she came to write this story, how she studied the Patawomeck language, interviewed the elders of her tribe who kept the story alive through oral tradition, as well as conducted her own research. Lora tells a powerful story of discovering her own heritage and then uncovering this story that up until now has only been known within the tribe.
Livestream with Lora Chilton on Instagram
April 20, 2024, 11:30 a.m. Eastern
From the Route of the Patawomeck Women tour launch event at the Patawomeck Museum and Cultural Center (event runs from 11 to 3)
April 24, 2024, 1 pm Eastern
From historic Jamestown
April 27, 2024, 2 pm Eastern
From the site in Hampton where the Patawomeck women were loaded onto slave ships for the Barbados
You also may view postings on Chilton’s social media throughout the tour.
