5/22/07 - Site of the Original Jamestown Colony

Today we visited Jamestown, which was the first permanent English colony in the Americas.  The colonists arrived in May 1607, 400 years ago this month.  History of Jamestown

 

The sign in this picture shows what the fort is thought to have looked like, based on archeological evidence.

Archeologists have been exploring the Jamestown site for a number of years and the digs are ongoing.

Note the remains of a brick and stone foundation in this picture.  The lines in the surface indicate the edges of disturbed soil or structures.

View of another dig site.  The crosses in the foreground mark the locations of burials that were discovered during an earlier dig.  The statue on the pedestal in the distance is Captain John Smith.

A section of the reconstructed palisade that was built following the methods used by the colonists.

 

 During the Civil War these earthworks were constructed by the Confederate forces to defend the James River and their capital, Richmond, VA which lies upstream.  At that time the exact location of the Jamestown colony had been lost to history, so the soldiers didn't realize that they were building on the site of the original colony.

We drove home the next day, after staying the night at a campground in Williamsburg.

5/21/07 Williamsburg

Today we tour Williamsburg. George Washington and his senior staff are discussing the plans for the battle of Yorktown and the public is invited to listen to the discussion and ask questions. We couldn't miss that!

Afterward we took the tour of the Governor's Palace, which was the official residence of the British Governor of the Virginia Colony. That's King George's coat of arms on the building.

Inside the entryway the walls were lined with swords, flintlock rifles and pistols. The tour guide explained that these were there to show those who entered the building the power of the British Empire. Very few people got past the entryway and only the most important actually were received by the Governor.


This is the Ballroom.

The very fancy molding around the ceiling.

This is a small part of the extensive formal gardens around the Palace.

A demonstration of the method used by the colonists for shearing sheep was being demonstrated nearby.  The sheep seemed to be relaxed and enjoying removal of his or her winter coat.

5/20/07 Jamestown Settlement

This year is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America. Today we visited Jamestown Settlement, a re-creation of the types of buildings that existed in the original Jamestown Colony. They also have re-creations of the three ships that carried the colonists from England, as well as examples of the buildings that the native Americans were using at the time.

This is the largest ship of the fleet - the Susan Constant.

The smallest ship, the Discovery.

The Godspeed.

A sign showing the route that the ships took to cross the Atlantic.

They chose a small island in the James River (named for King James) and built a fort for defense against the possibility of an attack by the Spanish or the Indians. The houses they built were similar to those that they had left back in England.

This is the pulpit inside the church.

The armory where weapons were stored.

The blacksmith shop. Not all blacksmiths were men.

The steps in making a nail from a piece of square stock.