Despite official urgings that they build substantial town houses on
Jamestown Island, the first successful planters often preferred to build
on their holdings away from the capitol, once the Indian menace had
passed. Only 2 houses at Jamestown, designed for single occupancy, have
over 900 square feet of foundation area.
One was either a stately residence or a public building (area 1,350
square feet) located near Pitch and Tar Swamp, just east of the
Jamestown Visitor Center. Archeological evidence indicates that this
structure was first completed before the middle of the 17th century. It
was later reconstructed and enlarged about the beginning of the last
quarter, possibly during Bacon's Rebellion of 1676. Unmistakably, it
burned.
The second structure was a smaller (1,200 square feet), but imposing,
house located near the present shoreline, considerably downriver. One of
the features of this second mansion was a basement in the center of
which was sunk a square, brick-lined recess, 3.3 feet on a side and 2.7
feet deep. Among the many wine bottle fragments in this recess were 3
bottle seals--1 with "WW" and 2 with "FN" stamped on them. Whether or
not this mansion can be associated with Sir Francis Nicholson, the last
governor resident at Jamestown (who moved the capital to Williamsburg),
we do not know. Artifacts found in the refuse indicate this house was
dismantled, not burned, shortly before or after the turn of the 17th
century. The mystery of the little brick-lined recess is not entirely
solved, but it is probable that here was a primitive cooler, deep below
the house, in which perishable foods or wines were stored.
[Illustration: JAMESTOWN HOUSE TYPES: SIMPLE FRAME, HALF-TIMBER, BRICK,
AND ROW. (Conjectural sketches by Sidney E. King.)]
[Illustration: EXCAVATED FOUNDATION OF A LATE 17TH-CENTURY PROTOTYPE OF
THE BALTIMORE AND PHILADELPHIA ROW HOUSES. SIX FAMILIES COULD HAVE LIVED
HERE.]