Middle Plantation in the Virginia Colony was the unincorporated town established in 1632 that became Williamsburg in 1699. It was located on high ground about halfway across the Virginia Peninsula between the James River and York River. Middle Plantation represented the first major inland settlement for the colony. It was established by an Act of Assembly to provide a link between Jamestown and Chiskiack, a settlement located across the Peninsula on the York River.

Middle Plantation's growth was encouraged by the completion in 1634 of a continuous fortification, or palisade, across the peninsula a distance of about 6 miles (10 km) between Archer's Hope Creek (later renamed College Creek), which drained southerly to the James River and Queen's Creek, which drained northerly to the York River. Also in 1634, James City Shire was established by the House of Burgesses to include Middle Plantation and the surrounding area. James City Shire soon thereafter became James City County, the oldest county in the United States.

As the small town grew, a new Bruton Parish Church was constructed there. In 1693, Middle Plantation was selected as the site of the new College of William & Mary. After serving as a temporary meeting place several times during contingencies of the 17th century when the Capital of the Colony had been located at Jamestown, Middle Plantation became the new Capital of the Virginia Colony in 1699. It was soon renamed Williamsburg in honor of King William III of Great Britain, and is today the site of the Historic District known as Colonial Williamsburg.

Royal Governor Sir Francis Nicholson described Middle Plantation as a place where "clear and crystal springs burst from the champagne soil."^{[citation needed]}

Middle Plantation was located on a ridge at the western edge of a geographic plateau of the Tidewater Region of southeastern Virginia, from which the land of the coastal plain slopes eastward down to sea level at the lower end of the Virginia Peninsula. At this point, the land portion of the Peninsula was relatively narrow between two creeks which drained into the James River and the York River. As much of the lower peninsula to the east was becoming settled, this was a natural point for the English settlers who established Jamestown and the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607 to build a line of defense during early conflicts with the Native Americans.

The idea of a palisade or fortification across the peninsula was discussed as early as 1611. Sir Thomas Dale, then governor, in a letter to the Earl of Salisbury, recommended the establishment of a fortified settlement at Chiskiack, some twenty miles (32 km) up the York River from Point Comfort. But, during the era of relative peace, which began with the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas in 1614, nothing was immediately done to implement the suggestion.

The idea of building a palisade was renewed around 1623, following the Indian massacre of 1622. At that time, 73 of the settlers were slain in Martin's Hundred at Wolstenholme Towne, situated on the James about 6 miles (10 km) below Jamestown. The survivors were so alarmed and weakened that they temporarily abandoned the settlement. Governor Francis Wyatt and his council wrote to the Earl of Southampton that they had a plan of "winning the forest" by running a pale between the James and York from Martin's Hundred to Chiskiack.

In 1626, Samuel Mathews, of Denbigh and William Claiborne, of Kecoughtan, offered to build the palisades and construct houses, at short intervals, between Martin's Hundred and Chiskiack. They attached conditions and costs, and historians do not believe their offer was accepted.