Berkeley Plantation

Location: 12602 Harrison Landing Rd, Charles City, VA 23030
Phone: (804) 829-6018
Website: http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/
Hours: Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas
March through December: Ticket Sales: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Tours: 9:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Grounds close at 5:30 p.m.
January and February: Ticket Sales: 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Tours: 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Grounds close at 4:30 p.m.
Ticket Price: Adults $12.00, Seniors (60+) $11.00, Children (ages 6-16) $7.00
Military Discount: Adults $11.00, Children (6-16) $6.50, 
Homeschool discount? No
We Visited: Friday, November 28, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.



Berkeley Plantation sits on the banks of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Benjamin Harrison IV built what is believed to be the oldest three-story brick Georgian mansion in Virginia. His son, Benjamin Harrison V, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and also served as governor of Virginia. 

The estate is also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison (the ninth U.S. president) and the ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison (the twenty-third president). It is now a privately-owned museum, open to the public. 

Berkeley Plantation was the site of the first official Thanksgiving, held on December 4, 1619.

The first time the Army bugle call "Taps" was played, it was at Berkeley Plantation in July, 1862. During the Civil War, Berkeley (know at that time as Harrison's Landing) was occupied by the Union Army. While there, General Daniel Butterfield composed "Taps," which was played by his bugler, O.W. Norton. 

The drummer boy with General George McClellan's army, there at that time, was John Jamieson. He later returned to Berkeley in 1907 as an adult and purchased the home and 1400 acres. The plantation is currently owned by the Malcolm E. Jamieson family. 

The home and surrounding grounds are beautifully maintained, and a walk to the edge of the James River is well worth it. 

Henricus Historical Park

Location: 251 Henricus Park Rd., Chester, VA 23836
Phone: (804) 748-1611
Website: http://henricus.org/
Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and January 1 – 19
Ticket Price: Adults: $8, Children (ages 3 – 12): $6, Children (2 and under): Free, Active and retired military: $1 discount
Homeschool discount? No
We Visited: Friday, October 28, 2016 from 3 – 4:30 p.m.

In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale established Henricus, the second English settlement in the new colony. Mount Malady, the first English hospital in the colony, is built nearby. In 1613, Pocahontas was captured and lived at Henricus while she learned the ways of the English and converted to Christianity. It was here that she was baptized by Reverend Alexander Whitaker and given the Christian name Rebecca. In 1619, the Virginia Company tried to establish the first college in the new world, the University of Henrico. While it's uncertain where the actual site of Henricus is, the settlement has been recreated as a living history museum on the bank of the James River in Chesterfield County.

The visit begins in the visitor’s center / gift shop where tickets can be purchased. A short film can be viewed here on a wall mounted television. The film introduces the history of the site and gives the visitor an overview of how it came to be.

Upon leaving the gift shop, we followed the trail to the Virginia Indian site.

There, a small village is depicted with costumed interpreters available to answer questions and provide information.

The houses contained animal skins, tools, and other items that would have been used by the native Americans prior to 1611.

The Arrohatek tribe would have lived in this area then. They were one of over 30 tribes ruled by Chief Powhatan. It’s unknown exactly how many Native Americans lived in this area during that time, but it is believed to be at least 13,000 and maybe as many as 22,000 in the coastal areas of Virginia.

We then moved to the fort, which has several buildings and represents the Citie of Henricus. The buildings include a church, barn, Mount Malady hospital, tavern, and Blacksmith’s Forge, among others.

Costumed interpreters are on site here, as well. We spent the most time in Rocke Hall, the home of Reverend Alexander Whitaker.

The home has been recreated to appear as it may have been when Pocahontas lived there. We learned about the difficulties she faced as she converted not just her religion, but her entire way of life.

Visitors can see what her bedroom may have looked like upstairs.

It was interesting to hear about the differences in her early life versus after she began living with the English. For example, she wore very little clothing as a Native American compared to the full dress she wore at Henricus. This is an example of what she would have probably worn during the summer months:

The heavy fabric English dresses must have felt very uncomfortable, especially during the hot, humid summer months. Also, she had only ever drunk water and eaten wild game, fish, and plants as a native. With the English, it was customary to drink wine, eat cheese and other dairy products and bread. This must have been quite a shock to her digestive system, and I’m sure she experienced more than her share of gastric upset while learning the English ways. She also learned to speak, read, and write English, as well as learned all about a completely new religion. She later married John Rolfe and traveled to England, where she died suddenly due to an unknown illness. She was buried in England and was never able to return to the colony.

On March 22, 1622, the Native Americans conducted a coordinated offensive against the settlements. In all, about 400 colonists were killed that day. As a result of the attacks, the settlement of Henricus was abandoned.

We happened to visit on an afternoon on which a special Halloween program was planned. While we were there, kids ages 2-8 trick or treated through the park. Several spots in the park were decorated for a separate program later that evening – Haunted Henricus: Things That Go Bump in the Night.

These are just two of many fun events that appeared on the site’s upcoming calendar – others were a special Thanksgiving feast, Hops in the Park craft beer festival, a cooking class, and several Christmas activities. These, and other events held during the rest of the year, would definitely make a membership worthwhile if you live nearby.

After visiting the historical area, we walked a bit further to the edge of the river. This spot provides and amazing view of the river and the 295 Varina-Enon bridge.

We enjoyed Henricus a great deal. It was similar, and very complimentary, to Jamestown, but without the crowd.

Jamestown Settlement

Location: 2110 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185

Phone: (757) 253-4838

Website: http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement/

Hours: Open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily (until 6 p.m. June 15 – August 15). Closed Christmas and New Year’s day.

Ticket Price: Adults: $17; Kids ages 6-12: $8, Kids under 6 are free.

Homeschool discount? Yes $9 for adult ticket and $7 for student. Can provide letter from county or homeschool ID to receive discount.

We Visited: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The land that makes up the current state of Virginia and the native people of that land were here long before most of the ancestors of the rest of us first arrived. While Virginia’s story prior to 1607 is surely rich and full of interesting people and their stories, unfortunately, none of those stories were written down. So, the written history of Virginia, and the United States, begins in Jamestown in 1607.

Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, established as “James Fort” on May 4, 1607. It served as the capital of the colony of Virginia from 1616 until 1699.

Today, visitors are able to visit two different sites to learn more about Jamestown. One is Historic Jamestowne, located at the original site. It’s run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia. Visitors to this site can view the site of the original 1607 James Fort, church tower, and the site of the 17^th century town. An archaeological museum called the Archaearium allows visitors to view many of the artifacts found on the property. Archaeologists from the Jamestown Rediscovery Project can often be observed as they work, and living history ranger tours are given regularly.

The second site is Jamestown Settlement, just over a mile away from the original site. It’s a living history park and museum operated by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. It features a Powhatan native American village, the James Fort, and replicas of the three ships that brought the first settlers: the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. At each of these, costumed historical interpreters interact with visitors and talk about what life was like in the early 17^th century in Jamestown.

After a bit of research about the two sites, we decided Jamestown would be a better starting point for a fourth grader (and for us adults, too, as first-time visitors to Jamestown). We do, however, plan to return and tour Historic Jamestowne in a few years.

                                           

Upon arrival and purchasing our tickets, our tour started with a movie that began each ½ hour and is a little under ½ hour long. It provided a dramatic recreation of the events that led to the founding and settlement of Jamestown / James Fort.

After the movie, we walked through the exhibit halls that started with Virginia pre-1607 – Native Americans and Powhatan. It then gives the visitor an idea what life was like in West Africa circa 1600 as well as in England during the same time period. As we walked through the exhibit halls, we learned more about the world during that time, what colonies had been explored and claimed for different countries, and how Jamestown came to be. The exhibits then focused on class and race differences in Virginia in the early 1600s.

After the exhibits, we exited the building and walked to the Powhatan village where we were free to explore the Powhatan way of life. 

There we found several reed-covered houses and crops. 

Historical interpreters were there to demonstrate how the native Americans lived day-to-day. My daughter enjoyed several hands-on activities such as grinding corn meal and playing games.

From there, we walked down to the water, where the three ships were moored. 

As we boarded each ship, we were greeted by at least one costumed interpreter. 

We were able to learn about the four-and-a-half month voyage the original colonists took from England, learn about life on the ships, and my daughter was able to try her hand at measuring the depth of the water off the side of one of the boats.

We then ventured back up the hill to James Fort. The wooden fortress, re-created to represent it as it would appear from 1610-1614, surrounds several wattle-and-daub buildings with thatch roofs. 

They include a church (Anglican, of course), a storehouse, and a governor’s house. 

Costumed interpreters were on hand and were engaged in daily activities that would have been common then. 

We enjoyed visiting the merchant and watching as a matchlock musket was fired, which happened every half-hour on the :15 and :45. 

We also learned that church was mandatory: if you didn’t attend church, you didn’t get your rations.

We departed the Fort and the pathway led back to the Visitor’s Center where we had originally entered. We visited the gift shop, then headed back home.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Jamestown Settlement. We found the costumed interpreters to be enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and it was a lot of fun to ask them questions. As we exited the exhibit halls to head to the Powhatan Village, 6 large school groups walked past us. Our experience most likely would have been less enjoyable if we’d arrived a bit earlier and were there at the same time as the field trips – something to consider if you plan to visit during the week when school is in session. I’m sure the site can become crowded with tourists during the summer months as well.