Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg

Monday, October 29
The area around Williamsburg is rich with history and historical sites.
We started our day heading southeast about eight miles toward Jamestown, VA. This was the site that was the first British settlement in North America. After briefly stopping on the shore near present day Virginia Beach (see last post) a trio of ships with 104 men on board landed here in 1607. They had a very tough first winter and lost nearly two thirds of their numbers. Eventually though the settlement flourished. It became the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a time before it was moved to Williamsburg.

The James River

Three ships came to the new settlement with the men and their supplies. By order of the King they were to establish a settlement 100 miles upstream from the ocean. Jamestown is roughly 80 miles from the mouth.

Monument commemorating the landing and new settlement.

Pocahontas

The story of Pocahontas. Hope you can read it.

The entrance to the chapel

They are excavating the church floor to exhume and study the bodies that were buried here. It was estimated there were 50 bodies buried in the chapel.

The chapel of today was built on the same site as the original built in 1617.

Captain John Smith was the first Governor of the new settlement at Jamestown and the new surrounding settlements that sprang up.

The shoreline of the James River has been reinforced to prevent further erosion. Some of the original fort has been lost to the changing shoreline.

A model of the original fort. Some of the left portion has been eroded by the river.

Old wells provide some great archaeological evidence of life during the period of habitation. Wells are often used as garbage disposals when the well is no longer a water producer. 

Much of the historic Jamestown site has been under archaeological study. They had tarps and holes everywhere. They also had a very interesting museum of artifacts they have recovered, including human remains, but photography was not permitted.

After our visit to Jamestown we headed down the very scenic Colonial Parkway toward Colonial Williamsburg. The Colonial Parkway is a 23 mile drive that connects Jamestown to Yorktown and runs through Willimasburg.

Colonial Williamsburg is the historical section of the city of Williamsburg. Many of the historic buildings have been restored and are staffed by period actors. The site is huge and certainly can't be seen in one day so we walked a portion of it today and we'll be back tomorrow to finish.

We started on the right side and worked toward the middle of the town.

Period dressed re-enactors. This gent was riding a very well behaved horse.

Beautifully restored businesses.

This business was closed today. It seemed that about a third of the businesses were closed on any particular day. It was quite frustrating to plan a visit to view on of the sites only to see it was closed that day.

Lots of folks around this building so it must be open.

So we stopped in for lunch. It was very good. I had beef stew and Cheryl had chicken pot pie.

This was the jewelers building.

Wood fired bakery ovens all set for tomorrow mornings bake

The Apothecary. This lady really knew her herbs and other medicinal materials used in the 17th century world.

The front of the Capitol building.The right side is the House of Burgess and the left side is the Court of the Crown. The meeting rooms are in the middle, below the tower.

The side of the Capitol Building.

Interesting tree trunk.

The sign says 'Her Majesty Queen Anne. Her Royal Capitol'. The Colonies were very loyal to the British crown......until the taxes and rules got to be too much. This led to independence. 

This gentleman took us through the Capitol building. he did a great job. We were in the House of Burgesses.

As with many historical buildings, the Capitol is a rebuilt exact replica of the original that burned down. This speakers chair is one of only a few original artifacts that survived the fire.

The meeting table that is located half way between the House of Burgess (the people) and the court (the Crown).

The beautifully decorated second floor meeting room in the courthouse side of the Capitol building.

The court on the main floor.

The blacksmith shop.

The leather workers.

The printing press. One page at a time.

A page typeset ready to be printed. In order to print in the correct orientation the typeset is backwards. Must have been tough to proof read.

Spare letters ready to be placed in the typeset mold.

The printer is adding ink to the 'boxing glove' pads. Once inked they are dabbed on the press lettering, then the paper is added and 'pressed'.

This final result.

A wonderful period home.....

....with a massive oak tree in front.

We made our way back to the visitor center on the free shuttle bus. It's a great system and easier than excessive walking. We'll come back to see the rest tomorrow.


....and that was Our View From Here!