The removal of the capital ultimately proved the death blow for
Jamestown, for this eliminated the primary reason for its existence.
Decline set in immediately, but Jamestown retained a seat in the
assembly for another three-quarters of a century. Its end as a town,
legally and physically, may be given as the period of the American
Revolution. There was a military post here early in that struggle.
Later, it became a point of exchange for American and British prisoners
of war, and it featured in the maneuvers leading to the Siege of
Yorktown. It witnessed the movement of Cornwallis’ army across the James
and was a landing and resting point for American and French soldiers
being sent to join Washington’s allied army.
[Illustration: _A watercolor by Robert M. Sully showing the
shoreline at Jamestown in 1854 at a point just above the Old Church
Tower. In this period erosion was slowly destroying the west end of
the site of “Old James Towne.” (Original in the collection of the
late Miss Julia Sully, Richmond, Va.)_]
Even before 1700, property on Jamestown Island was being consolidated
into a few hands. The consolidation continued unabated after this date,
and before the middle of the 18th century the major part of the island
was in the hands of two families—Ambler and Travis—each of which had its
own “mansion.” The Travis family estate at Jamestown had grown slowly
since before 1650, and Richard Ambler, of Yorktown, acquired, through
marriage, the extensive Jaquelin, formerly Sherwood, holdings. After
1830, the island came under a single ownership. Under the Amblers and
Travises and later owners of the island, even parts of the townsite
itself became farm land and functioned as an integral part of the
plantation system which earlier events at Jamestown had helped so
materially to create.
The fields, and woods, and marshes lay quietly on the James for
generations, contributing in a small, but important, manner to a growing
country. Americans often remembered the early years of the colony and
the momentous events that had taken place on the island, and joined here
to commemorate the deeds of their forefathers. There was the
Bicentennial of 1807, the Virginiad of 1822, the 250th anniversary in
1857, and the Tercentennial of 1907. In the years between these events
there were thousands who came individually and in small groups, the
famous and those now unknown. It was this remembrance and loyalty to one
of its great landmarks that led to the establishment of Jamestown Island
as a national historic shrine.
_Jamestown National Historic Site_
The first organized effort toward saving the Jamestown area came in 1893
when the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
acquired 22.5 acres of the old townsite. This land, donated for
preservation by Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Barney, embraced the Old Church
Tower, the graveyard, and the west end of the townsite.
The Association which was chartered in 1889 is better known, perhaps, as
the APVA. It is a non-profit organization interested in the acquisition,
preservation, and restoration of “ancient historic grounds, buildings,
monuments, and tombs in the Commonwealth of Virginia” and in the
collection and care of relics associated with them or with the history
of the State. Its Jamestown property is one of a number of holdings
which it administers. Another is the 17th-century Warren House on the
Rolfe property in Surry County just across the James River from
Jamestown.
Until 1934 the Association was the sole active agency working at
Jamestown to conserve and interpret the site for the American people. As
the custodian of a significant part of the site of old “James Towne,” it
continues working to promote measures insuring the protection of the
site and making it available for your use and inspiration. Landscaping,
limited reconstruction, some restoration, and the stabilization of the
remains of the Old Church Tower, the tombs, and foundations have all
been a part of its program, together with the acquisition and display of
Jamestown relics. In its work, it has solicited and received aid from
various organizations, particularly patriotic societies, in the
placement of memorials, and related activities. The Memorial Church was
constructed by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The Association was especially active in preparation for the Jamestown
Exposition in 1907.
The Association was successful in its efforts to encourage the United
States Government to construct the seawall which was built by Col.
Samuel H. Yonge in 1900-1901 to halt bank erosion by the James River
along the Association grounds. Colonel Yonge became a serious student of
Jamestown history and wrote _The Site of Old “James Towne,” 1607-1698_,
a work still available through purchase from the Association. In 1907,
the Association made available the grounds on which the Tercentenary
Monument was erected, and again in 1956 it provided land on which to
place the Jamestown Visitor Center.
In 1940 the Association entered into agreement with the United States of
America, through the Secretary of the Interior, to provide for a unified
program of development and administration for the island. It was at this
time that the APVA grounds were designated as Jamestown National
Historic Site. The joint cooperative agreement continues in force and
the Association and the National Park Service are working together to
preserve, maintain, and interpret this historic area.
In 1956 it became possible to present the townsite as a single unit when
the ferry to the island and the State highway crossing the island were
moved upriver above Jamestown. The APVA and the Service then combined
their separate museum exhibits to form the displays now seen in the
Visitor Center, and consolidated other operations at the center where
both are hosts to Jamestown visitors.
[Illustration: _Early ceramic types found in the excavations._]
_Colonial National Historical Park_
In 1930, by Presidential proclamation, all of Jamestown Island’s 1,559.5
acres (equally divided between marsh and dry land) were included within
the boundaries of Colonial National Monument. The monument designation
was changed to that of a national historical park by act of Congress in
1936. Actual Federal ownership of the island (other than the 22-acre
Association tract) was obtained in 1934, and some years later, a bit of
the mainland opposite the western tip of Jamestown was added because of
its close ties to the site.
Colonial National Historical Park is made up of several areas of which
Jamestown is one. It includes, as well, the Cape Henry Memorial, at the
mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where the first settlers who established
Jamestown first stopped in Virginia; the Yorktown Battlefield; and the
Colonial Parkway.
_Colonial Parkway_
This 23-mile scenic motor road connects historic Jamestown,
Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Along its course are descriptive markers
that give bits of history which often show the interrelation of
Jamestown (where the Nation began), Williamsburg (the 18th-century
capital of Virginia where important elements of our Revolutionary
leadership were nourished), and Yorktown (where the climatic battle in
our struggle for independence was fought).
_The Study of Jamestown_
When the major part of Jamestown Island, including much of the townsite,
was placed in its custody in 1934, the National Park Service, working
with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities,
assumed responsibility for preservation of the historic remains on the
island and for interpreting the site. This posed many problems, for the
Jamestown story is a vital segment of our national history, involving
the origins and growth of the culture of this formative period of
English colonization. The first pressing concern was the accumulation of
data on which to base a more complete understanding of life and
conditions as they existed at that time, specifically at Jamestown. This
was needed in order to plan for the preservation, development, and
interpretation of the area.
A program was drawn up which combined the various types of research that
the conditions and problems at Jamestown required. The overall objective
was to secure and preserve all possible data on Jamestown history
(giving history its broadest interpretation), and to gain a well-rounded
picture of the growth of agriculture, industry, commerce, and society
during the period Jamestown was inhabited.
Trained historians began to search in the leading libraries of the
country. At Jamestown, engineers and archeologists, assisted by
historians, architects, and museum technicians, began to survey the
island. Little of the old town existed aboveground, yet it was known
that there were, in all probability, extensive remains underground.
Systematic excavation was begun on the townsite on July 11, 1934.
In the beginning, it was recognized that the program would be of long
duration. Initially, in the years prior to World War II, the support of
the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) and the Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) proved invaluable. Work all but ceased during the war years
and went on at a very slow rate in the years just after the war. The
program was renewed with vigor in 1954 as plans for Jamestown’s 350th
anniversary began to materialize.
On June 1, 1938, a field laboratory and storage building to house the
Jamestown activities was completed, giving the project an adequate
physical plant. It soon came to house thousands of cultural objects and
included offices as well as facilities for cleaning, sorting, storing,
and cataloguing excavated materials. This temporary building served the
need for study, and later for interpretation, until it was removed early
in 1957. It was replaced, although on a different site, by the Jamestown
Visitor Center early in 1957.
[Illustration: _Excavation in progress at Jamestown in 1955._]
[Illustration: _Lighting equipment as used at Jamestown. (These
objects were excavated on the site.)_]
The findings of the program have been extensive. Documentary Study has
gleaned data which, when carefully examined, yields a more complete
picture of 17th-century Jamestown than was thought possible. However,
the picture is sketchy and needs the details filled in. For this reason,
research continues in anticipation of bridging the gaps.
Archeological work proved more fruitful than the most optimistic had
anticipated during the initial phases of the work. The materials and
information found beneath the ground at Jamestown have been astonishing
in both quantity and type. Architectural and constructural findings are
of various types. More than a hundred building-remains have been
excavated. Some are only the footings for a frame structure, some are
brick foundations in full outline, and others are well-preserved cellars
with interesting structural detail. Associated with the sites are
fragments of hardware, glass, roofing tile, and related building
materials. Some of the building remains are those of the most prominent
structures at Jamestown, such as statehouses and governors’ houses.
Brick kilns have been found, one being the well-preserved ruins in the
Association grounds, showing clearly that 17th-century Virginians made
much of their own brick and roofing tile. Pottery manufacture has been
documented as well as other such activities. Several types of early
wells, often brick-lined, have yielded many objects dropped in
accidentally, or by design, while they were still in use.
Even road traces still exist. Some of them, considered in the light of
documentary references, have made it possible to reestablish the route
of the “Greate Road” formerly connecting the island and the mainland.
The reopening of old property line ditches and the rediscovery of fence
lines (by identifying old post holes) have aided immeasurably in
locating property tracts. This information, added to that of the old
land grants and survey plats, has made possible the location of many
early landholdings and has helped in the study of the physical layout of
the town. Other features uncovered include lime kilns, where the early
Jamestown builders burned their own lime for plaster—occasionally found
still clinging to basement walls—and brick drains.
The number and variety of objects found in the excavations can only be
indicated in general terms. The great bulk of thousands of items now
collected is made up of pieces of iron, copper, brass, bronze, pewter,
clay, and earth. Occasionally some more perishable materials, such as
wool, leather, and wood, are found. Among the more interesting finds are
clay tobacco pipes, glass wine bottles, pottery vessels, Delft tiles,
gun and sword fragments, bullets, cannon balls, spurs, bits of armor,
stirrups and bridles, locks, keys, nails, spoons, forks, shears, pins,
thimbles, axes, hoes, window glass, buckles, combs, and rings. A
complete list would be much longer. Often only fragments remain, yet in
many cases it is possible to make a full restoration of the original
piece, such as has been done with a clay baking oven. A special
illustrated publication is available, in popular style, describing the
archeological work and the collection.
[Illustration: _In early Jamestown, water came from shallow wells
which often had a barrel at the bottom such as this found still in
place._]
Individually and collectively, these objects give us an insight into the
manner in which 17th-century Jamestown men and their families lived.
These objects will help you get a more complete picture of the first
Virginians—how they dressed, worked, built and equipped their homes, and
satisfied their daily needs.
[Illustration: _Sgraffito—often called “scratch” ware since the
design was scratched into the upper layer of pliable clay before it
was baked—is one of the most common 17th-century ceramic types found
at Jamestown._]
_The Development of Jamestown_
No attempt will be made to restore Jamestown as it was in 1607 or at any
other period. The town was always small and always changing. Jamestown,
it might be said, was never a city in the modern concept. It was more a
village, a small community. The town of 1607, or 1610, was unlike that
of 1623, and that of 1623 was far different from that of 1675.
Architecture went all the way from timber and thatch structures to
substantial all-brick houses. Even if the town had had a reasonable
continuity of building types and plan, known information would be
entirely insufficient to allow a restoration. Major discoveries of new
material are still expected, yet the detail necessary for an authentic
restoration may always be too meager.
The site of old “James Towne” has, however, retained much of the spirit
of its antiquity. Its serene and peaceful atmosphere seems to take one
back through the years. You may be able, for a moment, to disassociate
yourself from the swift pace of present living as you wander past the
old foundations and look upon the Old Church Tower.
The National Park Service, following the precedent established by the
Association, is endeavoring to preserve this unbroken link with the
past. The emphasis is on the presentation of the townsite itself and the
island wilderness as the real exhibit. There are “streets” and winding
paths, exposed and marked foundations, existing remains, paintings of
buildings and scenes, property markings (old ditches, fences of period
design, and hedges), and natural planting. Shaded vistas and secluded
points for quiet reflection are provided as much as possible. Some use
is being made of period-type buildings (but not specific
reconstructions) as in the “glasshouse” with its thatch, wattle and
daub, and “cruck” design.
Physical features of the 17th century have not survived at Jamestown in
sufficient number to illustrate the complete story, and the townsite
will not adapt itself to a full coverage. However, there are extensive
supplementary exhibits in the Jamestown Visitor Center, which are
designed to help you understand and “experience” Jamestown.
[Illustration: _The Old Church Tower, standing on the grounds of the
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, was
probably built about 1639._]
[Illustration: BUILDING HARDWARE
UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN]
HINGES
NAILS
DOOR LOCKS
RIVET
PADLOCKS
STRAP HINGE
STRAP HINGE WITH PINTLE
KEYS
_Guide to the Area_
(Numbers correspond to numbers on the map on page 43.)
“James Towne” developed on the west end of Jamestown Island. At its
maximum extent it lay along the river for approximately three-quarters
of a mile. It was a thin strip of a town between the James River and the
marsh that came to be called Pitch and Tar Swamp. At first there was
only the fort, then an enlarged palisaded area. Gradually the town grew
with the building of houses, a church, a market place, shops,
storehouses, forts, statehouses, and other public buildings grouped
along streets and paths. The entire townsite is an exhibit area. The
_Visitor Center_ (1), at its edge, is a short distance from the parking
area across a trestle bridge spanning Pitch and Tar Swamp.
In the Visitor Center, sponsored jointly by the Association for the
Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and the National Park Service, an
orientation program of movies and slides, an information desk, an
extensive series of exhibits, and literature and souvenirs are
available. The exhibits include many irreplaceable objects, such as
earrings of Pocahontas, and many objects recovered from the ground.
There are dioramas, a large model of James Fort, illustrated panels, and
other displays telling about early Jamestown and explaining the points
of interest on the townsite and along the island tour or drive.
[Illustration: “JAMES TOWNE”
JAMESTOWN ISLAND
VIRGINIA]
The adjacent townsite is easily reached from the Visitor Center, and a
good general view of it may be had from the observation terrace around
the _Tercentenary Monument_ (2). This shaft of New Hampshire granite
rising 103 feet above its base was erected in 1907 to commemorate the
300th anniversary of the settlement.
A footpath leads from the monument terrace to the church area, crossing
the trace of the “Greate Road,” which served the town’s residents some
300 years ago. It passes close to the site of a 17th-century brick kiln
just inside the entrance to the APVA grounds.
The _Church Area_ (3), the most inspiring spot at Jamestown today,
embraces the Old Tower, the Memorial Church, and the Churchyard. The
ivy-covered _Old Church Tower_ is the only standing ruin of the
17th-century town. It is believed to have been a part of the first brick
church built about 1639. Its 3-foot-thick walls of handmade brick laid
in English bond have been standing for more than 300 years. The
_Memorial Church_, directly behind the tower, was erected in 1907 by the
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America over the foundations
of the early brick church. Within the church are memorials and burials,
including the “Knight’s” tomb and that of Rev. John Clough.
Of particular note, inside the church, are the exposed _cobblestone
foundations of an earlier church_ said to have housed the first
representative legislative assembly in America which convened at
Jamestown on July 30, 1619. In the _Churchyard_ many dead are buried,
and the few gravestones that have survived the wear of time and weather
are a witness to the antiquity of the spot. These carry the names of
Berkeley, Blair, Harrison, Ludwell, Bevereley, Lee, Sherwood, and
others. Even the extent of the burial ground is unknown. It is more
extensive than either the iron grill fence or the old wall (built of
bricks from the ruins of one of the 17th-century Jamestown churches)
suggests.
[Illustration: _The foundations of the Last (fourth) Statehouse
Group as it extends toward the James River. It was the burning of
this statehouse in 1698 that was the immediate reason for moving the
capital of the colony from Jamestown to Williamsburg._]
Adjacent to the church are a number of memorials and monuments erected
through the years, particularly in 1907, to commemorate important events
at Jamestown and to honor some of those outstanding in Virginia history.
These include the _House of Burgesses Monument_ (4) listing the members
of America’s first representative legislative assembly in 1619, the
_Pocahontas Monument_ (5), by William Ordway Partridge; and the _Capt.
John Smith Statue_ (6), designed by William Couper.
[Illustration: _The graveyard near the Memorial Church. The sycamore
(center) now separates the graves of Rev. James Blair, a founder of
William and Mary College, from that of his wife, Sarah Harrison
Blair._]
The footpath leads to the concrete walkway on the edge of the seawall.
This seawall (built in 1900-1901) along the shoreline of the Association
grounds and the later riprap extension of it now protect the site from
further erosion. Walk to the right (upriver) along the concrete walkway.
It passes near, but outside, the _Confederate_ earthwork thrown up in
1861 when the James River approach to Richmond was being fortified. At
one point a bit of history can be read from the ground in a _Site Use
Exhibit_ (7). The earth in the side of the embankment has been carefully
sliced and various levels are identified—undisturbed ground, the level
of Indian use, the zone with evidences of 17th-century use, and, topping
all, the earthwork built by Confederate troops in 1861.
Just beyond, but at a point now in the river, due to the erosion of the
last three centuries, is the site of “_James Fort_” (8), which was built
in May and June 1607, and constituted the Jamestown settlement in the
first few years. There is a large model of “James Fort” in the Visitor
Center and a full scale reconstruction of it has been built in Festival
Park above Glasshouse Point and adjacent to the Jamestown terminus of
the Colonial Parkway.
In the words of William Strachey, recorder for the colony, the fort, as
built in 1607, and standing in 1610, was “cast almost into the forme of
a Triangle, and so Pallizadoed. The South side next the River ... by
reason the advantage of the ground doth so require, contains one hundred
and forty yards: the West and East sides a hundred onely. At every Angle
or corner, where the lines meete, a Bulwarke or Watchtower is raised,
and in each Bulwarke a peece of Ordnance or two well mounted. To every
side, a proportioned distance from the Pallisado, is a setled streete of
houses, that run along, so as each line of the Angle hath his streete.
In the middest is a market place, a Store house, and a Corps du guard,
as likewise a pretty Chappel ... [all] inclosed ... round with a
Pallizado of Planckes and strong Posts, foure foote deepe in the ground,
of yong Oakes, Walnuts, &c ... the principall Gate from the Towne,
through the Pallizado, opens to the River ... at each Bulwarke there is
a Gate likewise to goe forth, and at every Gate a Demi-Culverin and so
in the Market Place....”
Just beyond the fort site, approximately 125 feet from the present
seawall, at a point where it makes a pronounced turn to the right, is
the _First Landing Site_ (9) which the colonists reached on May 13,
1607. Here the next day, all came ashore and landed supplies. This spot,
like the fort site, is now in the river. The _Old Cypress_ (10),
standing several hundred feet from the shore above the landing site, is
said to have stood at one time on the edge of the island. This is
visible evidence of the erosion that has taken at least 25 acres of the
western part of the townsite.
[Illustration: _The Tercentenary Monument erected by the United
States in 1907, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the landing
of the first permanent English settlers at Jamestown._]
[Illustration: _The Hunt Memorial erected to the memory of Rev.
Robert Hunt, first minister at Jamestown, by the Colonial Dames of
America in the State of Virginia._]
Inshore, at this point, the _Memorial Cross_ (11) occupies a position of
prominence. This marks the burial ground that extended along the ridge
behind it. This is the earliest known burial ground at Jamestown and is
thought to have preceded that around the church. It was along this
ridge, first used as a cemetery, that Jamestown’s third statehouse
(burned by Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., in 1676) was constructed. A decade
later the fourth (and last) statehouse was built on the same site. It
was the accidental burning of the last statehouse and the structures
associated with it, in 1698, that was the immediate reason for moving
the seat of government from Jamestown. This group of houses—the _Last
Statehouse Group_ (12)—consisted of the last country house, three houses
of Philip Ludwell, and the fourth statehouse. The foundations are marked
and the footpath, leaving the concrete walkway, follows along these
foundations and passes near the Memorial Cross.
The walkway now returns to the Church area. The path follows across a
low area, known in the old days as the “Vale,” and into the Confederate
earthwork. Here is the bronze relief memorial to _The Rev. Robert Hunt_
(13). He was the chaplain to the first settlers. On the third Sunday
after Trinity, in June 1607, he administered the first recorded Holy
Communion according to the rites of the Church of England.
[Illustration: _One of the larger of the Jamestown foundations,
located in the “New Towne” section. It has been identified as the
“Country House.” As the foundations indicate, several houses
occupied this site._]
The tour route emerges from the Confederate earthworks near the entrance
to the church and passes again near the Smith, Pocahontas, and House of
Burgesses markers and other memorials. Just beyond, the tour leaves the
Association grounds (the west end of the site of old “James Towne”) and
follows a walk close to the bank of the river. Beyond, stretches the
eastern section of “James Towne.”
[Illustration: _The foundation ruins of the First Statehouse at
Jamestown, where the House of Burgesses met in the period 1640-55.
Believed to have been used earlier by Sir John Harvey._]
It has become possible to define on the ground the pattern of Jamestown
as it existed in at least a part of the early period. Utilizing the
route of the “Greate Road,” “Back Streete,” “the highway close to the
river,” and various connecting ways, a plan now lays on the ground east
from the Visitor Center. Exposed original foundations, other ruins
marked aboveground in brick and wood (these in dull white), reopened old
ditches (which often mark property lines), fences of period type, and
replanted hedges are all used. Paintings help in visualizing the houses
that once stood on some of the foundations while recorded descriptions,
narrative markers, and other aids give information on owners, events,
and happenings.
The extreme east end of Jamestown is that area developed after 1619,
first actually surveyed by William Claiborne in 1623, and known to its
first residents as _New Towne_. Here it is possible to locate, plot, and
identify, with some assurance, a number of the early property holdings.
There is the plot taken up by Capt. John Harvey in 1624, on which he had
houses and where he kept a garden and cultivated fruit trees. Across
“Back Streete” from the Harvey site was the holding of Dr. John Pott who
was sent from England in 1621 accompanied by two surgeons and a chest of
medicine. He had a house here by 1622, although it was not until after
this date that he obtained his land patent.
West of the Harvey site was the home and lot of George Menefie, an
attorney, administrator, and member of the council. Near the home of
Menefie was the tract of Ralph Hamor, Dale’s secretary of state, who
died in 1626. Farther west were the holdings of John Chew, a merchant
(1624), and of Richard Stephens (1623), who had personal difficulties
with John Harvey, and who later appears to have been a party to the
first duel fought in an English colony. North of the “Back Streete” and
west of Pott’s holdings were those of Edward Blaney (a merchant), Capt.
Roger Smith, and Capt. William Pierce, whose house George Sandys, in
1623, pronounced “the fairest in Virginia.”
Near the river, in the “New Towne” section, stood the _First Statehouse_
(14) in Virginia. Foundations here (now partly exposed and partly
marked) are thought to be those of this significant structure. It served
the colony from 1641 to 1656. In it, during the early governorship of
Sir William Berkeley, were discussed the measures needful for the
government of the growing colony. Here, too, the colony gave its
submission to the commonwealth government of Oliver Cromwell in England
in 1652, and Richard Bennett was chosen as governor by the assembly to
succeed Berkeley.
Even the designation “New Towne” was forgotten in the years after 1650
when the area, including street alinement, changed considerably. Those
living in houses here or owning property in Jamestown’s east end then
included Sherwood, Thomas Rabley, James Alsop, Richard Holder, William
Edwards, and Henry Hartwell, one of the founders of the College of
William and Mary. The scanty remains of _Hartwell’s Frame_ _House_ (15)
are believed to have been identified and they are marked. In this
instance the discovery of a preponderance of “H-H” initialed wine bottle
seals furnished a helpful identity clue.
[Illustration: _An early baking oven of clay reconstructed from
fragments found in the excavations at Jamestown._]
The “_Country House_” (16) in this early period lay in the “New Towne”
section. Perhaps a number of houses stood here on the same site prior to
the first brick structure that bears this designation. In excavations on
the site, the foundations of the brick building were found, including
excellent specimens of ornamental plaster which may have adorned this
structure or that of a later private residence of William Sherwood,
which was found to have occupied the same site. Its foundations are
visible.
Dominating the scene today in this area are the ruined walls of the
_Jaquelin-Ambler House_ (17). These are a testimony of the late colonial
period (18th century) when Jamestown Island was no longer the seat of
government and when, as the town declined, the island became the private
estate of two families—Ambler and Travis. The present walls of the
Ambler House constitute the center portion of a rather impressive
residence that was flanked by two wings. It was begun about 1710 and
when fully established, had formal gardens, the brick walls of which
were partly uncovered during archeological work on the townsite. Its
construction is thought to have obliterated all trace of Richard Kemp’s
house, the first recorded all-brick house in Virginia.
Between the Ambler House ruins and the Visitor Center stood a “_long
house_” (18), one made of several sections with common connecting walls.
Its long walls have been outlined on the ground as it stood some three
centuries ago. Behind this site are the original ruins (displayed under
cover) of an early building that appears from its fireboxes and other
features to have served some, but as yet unidentified, “manufacturing”
purpose. Near it, unmistakeable evidences of pottery manufacturing have
been found. This particular locality has evidences, too, of other types
of workmanship. Perhaps, for a time, it was a kind of “_Production
Center_” (19) in Jamestown.
The story of Jamestown is not all concerned with the townsite itself.
Much of it deals with farming and other activities on the island
surrounding the town except on the river front, and especially to the
east. The _Island Drive_ is a motor road that gives access to this
island area. Starting from the central parking area, it traverses the
island’s 1,559.5 acres of marsh and woodland. The full drive is about 5
miles although it has a shorter 3-mile loop. Natural features are named
and markers carry legends about the land and the people. Large
_paintings_ here and there picture the life of the times in daily
activities such as winemaking, tobacco-growing, and lumbering. After
passing the _Confederate Fort_ (20), you come to _Black Point_ (21) at
the east end of the island where there is an excellent view of the lower
reaches of the James River. Then the loop takes you past the _Travis
Graveyard_ (22) and _The Pond_ (23), where Lawrence Bohun collected
herbs for medical experiment in 1610.
[Illustration: _Winemaking as it may have been practiced at
Jamestown three centuries ago. (A painting by Sidney E. King.)_]
The one-way tour road loops back to the parking area and to the isthmus
connecting the island and _Glasshouse Point_ on the mainland, so named
because the colonists, in 1608, undertook to produce glass at this
location. Here are exhibited the _Original Glass Furnace Ruins_ (24) the
remains of the first attempt to produce glass in America. Nearby is a
_Working Furnace_ (25) of the same type housed in a thatch-covered
building constructed in the manner of those used in Virginia and England
three and a half centuries ago. The Jamestown Glasshouse Foundation,
Inc., representing a number of leading American glass companies, helped
to make this possible. The Foundation operates the furnace and in season
the blowing of glass in the old way can be observed. Handmade glass
objects can be purchased.
The tour of Jamestown ends here at the “Glasshouse.” From this point the
Colonial Parkway leads to Williamsburg and Yorktown. Following this
route you can read history on the spot in the order it occurred.
[Illustration: _A building, such as may have been used in 1608-09,
houses the glassmaking exhibit on Glasshouse Point._]
_How to Reach Jamestown_
Jamestown Island is easily reached over the Colonial Parkway from
Williamsburg only 10 miles away. Williamsburg is the nearest rail and
bus terminal and the closest point of concentration of housing and
eating facilities. The approach from the south is over State Routes 10
and 31 to the ferry over the James River from Scotland to Glasshouse
Point near the Jamestown Entrance Gate. From Richmond and points to the
West, State Routes 5 and 31 can be used without entering Williamsburg.
_About Your Visit_
Jamestown is open daily, except on Christmas Day, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
from April 1 to September 30 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the year.
A single admission of 50 cents per person is collected at the Entrance
Gate on Glasshouse Point. However, during the 350th Jamestown
Anniversary Festival season in 1957 this charge is a part of, and
included in, a $1 per person admission including all of Jamestown and
nearby Festival Park with its reconstructed “James Fort,” ship replicas,
and other features. All school students 18 years of age and under, when
in groups, and all children under 12 are admitted without charge when
accompanied by adults assuming responsibility for their orderly conduct.
Organizations and groups are given special service if arrangements are
made in advance. All visitors are urged to go first to the Jamestown
Visitor Center where literature, information, and a special program are
available.
No eating or lodging facilities are available at Jamestown. There is,
however, a restaurant and picnic ground in the Virginia State Festival
Park at Glasshouse Point.
_Administration_
Jamestown Island (except Jamestown National Historic Site administered
and maintained by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities) is part of Colonial National Historical Park. The park also
includes Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial Parkway, and Cape Henry
Memorial. It is administered by the National Park Service of the United
States Department of the Interior.
Inquiries relating to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities area should be addressed to that Association, Jamestown,
Va.; those relating to the National Park Service area to the
Superintendent, Colonial National Historical Park, Yorktown, Va.
_Suggested Readings_
Andrews, Matthew Page. _Virginia: The Old Dominion._ Doubleday Doran.
New York. 1937.
Chandler, J. A. C., and Thames, T. B. _Colonial Virginia._
Times-Dispatch Company. Richmond, Va. 1907.
Forman, Henry Chandlee. _Jamestown and St. Mary’s: Buried Cities of
Romance._ The Johns Hopkins Press. Baltimore. 1938.
Hatch, Charles E., Jr. _The First Seventeen Years: Virginia, 1607-1625._
Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical Booklet No. 6. Virginia
350th Anniversary Celebration Corporation. Williamsburg, Va. 1957.
Stanard, Mary Newton. _The Story of Virginia’s First Century._ J. B.
Lippincott. Philadelphia. 1928.
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. _The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and James
River._ Ed. 2. The Hermitage Press. Richmond, Va. 1906.
Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. _The First Americans 1607-1690._ A
History of American Life Series, Vol. II. The Macmillan Company.
New York. 1927.
Wright, Louis B. _Atlantic Frontier: Colonial American Civilization:
1607-1761._ Alfred A. Knopf. New York. 1947.
Yonge, Samuel H. _The Site of Old “James Towne” 1607-1698._ The
Hermitage Press. Richmond, Va. 1907.
_Footnotes_
[1]Although Jamestown Island was not a true island until the isthmus was
washed out about the period of the Revolution, it was called an
island even in the early years of the Colony.