Fort Christanna was a colonial fort laid out in 1714 by Virginia’s Governor Alexander Spotswood on the Meherrin River in what was then the frontier of European expansion. Built on land set aside for a trading post, for rangers to patrol the area and keep peace, and as a home for the Saponie people, it was named “Christ-Anna” for Spotswood’s religion and his queen. Concerned with protecting pioneers seeking new land and with profits from the fur trade, Spotswood received a charter from the General Assembly to build the fort and established the Virginia Indian Company to do so. He also gathered the remnants of the Saponie tribes there for safety after settlers had driven them from their homeland and Iroquoian tribes had badly harassed them. Life at the fort was busy as rangers rode out on patrol circuits, Native Americans traded pelts, and for a time a school for Indian children operated within the fort. After the Indian Company’s charter was rescinded, activity slowed; by 1718 the school had closed and funding for the rangers had ended, though trade continued until 1722 and some Saponie remained there for years afterward.