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.