Henrico City (originally called "Henrico Cittie") was one of the four incorporations established in the Colony of Virginia in 1619 by the proprietor, the Virginia Company. The plantations and developments were Henrico City, Charles City, Elizabeth City, and James City. The latter included the seat of government for the colony at Jamestown. Each of the four citties extended across the James River, the main conduit of transportation of the era Henrico's most promising early development, Sir Thomas Dale's "Henricus", was abandoned during the Indian Massacre of 1622, as were the Falling Creek Ironworks. However, the offshoot town of Henrico (as differentiated from the adjacent, defunct fort) survived until 1786, its courthouse having been burned by Benedict Arnold in 1781, during the 1776 revolution. Both locations were recently rediscovered and are now located in Chesterfield County, which was formed from parts of Henrico before the American Revolutionary War In 1634, under Royal authority, a portion became Henrico Shire, later Henrico County, Virginia. The county seat was designated near John Rolfe and Pocahontas' former home Varina Farms and remained there until 1752, when a new courthouse was built in Richmond