It’s not every day that a nation is born, but at Jamestown, it happens all the time. As a matter of fact, it’s happening right now at Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne.
In their own unique way, these attractions re-create the fragile foundations of a new world, and in recent years, the experience they offer has been greatly enhanced. Thanks to “America’s 400th Anniversary,” a 2007 event commemorating the founding of this country’s first permanent English settlement, new facilities have been constructed, exhibitions expanded and discoveries introduced.
Today, there’s so much to see and do at Jamestown that it’s hard to imagine a time when it wasn’t buzzing with activity, but it was a vastly different landscape in 1607. That’s when a group of 104 English men and boys set foot on this bank of the James River. Sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, they came in search of profits and resources ripe for commerce. In the 13 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, they would endure hardships, Indian encounters and the struggles of daily life, but through it all, they would triumph as America’s first permanent English settlement. From this pivotal accomplishment would emerge a new nation, a new world, and centuries later, one of this country’s most historically significant destinations.
Jamestown is a time capsule yet to be entirely unsealed, its story still unfolding, its soil still rich with treasure. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than at Historic Jamestowne. This is the site of the original settlement. Strategically located, it afforded a good defensive position, and it was where this nation’s earliest forefathers established a tenuous foothold in a new world. They built a fort here. They practiced their religion and government here. They lived and died here, and their activities still echo through the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological excavation that is located here today. Beneath the feet of all who travel here rest the remnants of a nation’s birth.
The journey begins at the Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center. Newly opened in 2007, it features museum exhibits and a multimedia theater presentation about Jamestown’s 92 years as the capital of Virginia. From there, visitors can walk through the original James Fort site featuring reconstructed portions of the palisade walls exactly where they stood four centuries ago. Once believed to have eroded into the James River, nearly all of the fort site still exists on dry land, and the excavation of it continues to this day. Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists work within the public eye, and their findings are on display in the Nathalie P. and Alan M. Voorhees Archaearium (pronounced ar-KEE-air-ee-um) archaeological museum.
Also open for Jamestown’s 400th anniversary, this innovative facility is not only a showcase for more than 1,000 of the most interesting Jamestown Rediscovery artifacts, but a truly historical attraction as well. Inside, visitors can stand exactly where America began, directly over glass-encased foundations of Jamestown’s last statehouse. Enhancing the experience, virtual viewers superimpose the 1607 James Fort over the actual archaeological site, but this is not the only way to walk through time at Jamestown.
While Historic Jamestowne unearths the past, Jamestown Settlement brings it to life. A veritable living history museum, Jamestown Settlement illuminates the daily existence of the colonists and the confluence of English, Powhatan and African cultures that came together after their arrival.
New in 2007, 30,000-square-foot exhibition galleries and introductory film set the tone for this popular attraction, making it all the more obvious that it has succeeded in duplicating the sights, sounds and even smells of the 17th century. And that is exactly where visitors are as they venture through its numerous indoor and outdoor exhibits.
Within the walls of the Jamestown Settlement’s re-created colonial fort stand a church, guardhouse, storehouse and governor’s house ready for exploration. A re-created Powhatan Indian village also showcases authentic re-creations, as well as a crop field and ceremonial circle. A riverfront discovery area highlights early travel, navigation and cultural exchange, and on the James River itself are re-creations of the three ships that carried the settlers to its banks. The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery are a sight to behold, and all would-be sailors are welcome to climb aboard for a look at the colonists’ accommodations on their four-and-a-half-month journey from England.
Throughout all of these venues at Jamestown Settlement, historical interpreters work and play just as they would have 400 years ago, and visitors are encouraged to participate in their activities. Whether it’s grinding corn, preparing meals, steering a ship or carving a canoe, hands-on experiences abound in this living history arena.
Jamestown Settlement
Route 31 South, Williamsburg, VA 23185
www.historyisfun.org • 888-593-4682
Historic Jamestowne
1368 Colonial Parkway, Jamestown, VA, 23081
www.historicjamestowne.org • 757-229-1733
Separate admission fees apply to Historic Jamestowne and Jamestown Settlement and a variety of multi-attraction tickets are available. |
