When commemorating the founding of Jamestown, the first English settlement in what is now the United States, a comparative examination of English and American history and culture is appropriate. Through more than the English language, Virginia and the southeastern English county of Kent have long been connected. Some of the first Jamestown settlers came from Kent. Among the first English families in Virginia were the Kentish Culpeppers, Sandys, Sidneys, and Wyatts. Their descendants in Virginia and England share agricultural, maritime, and building traditions. Most important, the people of Kent and Virginia share the desire to preserve the ...