Bob and Lynn Ripley of Gloucester, owners of Werowocomoco on the York River, have received the President’s Award given by Preservation Virginia.

The Ripleys won the award along with Kathleen Kilpatrick, executive director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, for their work in preserving the Werowocomoco site identified as the headquarters of Chief Powhatan at the time English settlers arrived in Virginia in 1607.

Anne Cross, president of Preservation Virginia, said the President’s Award is not given every year. It is used to identify "exemplary projects of great significance both in the act of preservation and the value of the preservation."

The award was made Oct. 21 at Preservation Virginia’s annual conference held in Roanoke.

The Ripleys have granted a conservation easement on the property to preserve its integrity for future generations. It has been the site of a decade of archaeological exploration documenting the features described by Capt...