This shrine is dedicated to the memory of the Reverend Robert Hunt (1568-1608), the first Anglican minister of the colony. It was erected by the "Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia" to commemorate the earliest celebration of the Holy Communion in the first permanent English settlement in America.

The Reverend Robert Hunt was appointed by the Church of England as minister of the colony which established the English church and English civilization at Jamestown, Virginia. His people, members of the colony, left this testimony concerning him: "He was an honest, religious and courageous divine, he preferred the service of God in so good a voyage to every thought of ease at home. He endured every privation, yet none ever heard him repine. During his life our factions were oft healed and our greatest extremities so comforted that they seemed easy in comparison with what we endured after his memorable death. We all received from him the Holy Communion together as a pledge of reconciliation for we all loved him for his exceeding goodness. He planted the first Protestant church in America, and laid down his life in the foundation of Virginia."