First Colony / Jamestown Settlement

  Jamestown, Virginia, United States
Sunday, June 29, 2008

Visitor Center (state flags)

After the round of golf at the Golden Horseshoe, we met up with Marty for lunch. After lunch Mike and I spent the remaining afternoon exploring the Jamestown settlement. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Interesting note...the Virginia Company issued the charter for the first settlers to find a location in the New World surrounded on three sides by water and on a river which goes Northwest. After sailing along the Chesapeake coast, they stopped along the James river and built Jamestown in 1607. We missed the 400th anniversary celebration which occurred last year. The welcome center is shaped into an "L" with the entrance at the lower end and a museum and movie theater along the left side. Mike and I were intrigued by this tower outside of the building, so we did not walk through the remainder of the visitor center. There was no indication of its purpose...I am thinking it is some kind of utility room.

The first exhibition was a nature walk displaying the native plants and vegetation found by the settlers when they first landed in the area. The trail led to a recreation of the Powhatan Indian village.

Powhatan Village

You can walk through the various sleeping and storage huts to see how the native americans lived. I was most interested in the various animal hides and turtle shells. There were also various historical interpreters demonstrating how the Powhatan women weaved natural fibers into cords and grind corn. One of the interpreters had scarlet red hair...I do not think there were many red-headed Powhatans. Next we walked by some hollowed out tree trunks which were made into canoes. The pamphlet mentioned that people can participate in making a canoe...I guess the canoes are finished and everyone went home.

Susan Comfort

The next station contained the most fascinating

Discovery

items in the settlement, replicas of the three ships (Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery) which carried the settlers across the Atlantic. Two of the ships were open for visitors to come aboard and explore. One of the interpreters on board the Susan Constant made it a point to mention that the ships are not recreations but representations of the type of ships used, since records were sparse on details of the actual ships. Another fascinating thing is that all three ships are sea worthy and would occasionally set sail along the coast to participate in various parades of tall ships. The ships crew are composed of volunteers who not only sail the ships but must donate some of their time in ship maintenance. You can see three crewmen/women working on the Discovery.

Mike manning the gun

Mike and I had the most fun on board the Susan Constant, the largest of the ships. In the hull were some broadside cannons with a collection of the various things shot out of the cannon in addition to cannon balls. There were mast cutters (linked rods which open up after exiting the barrel meant to cut down the enemy's mast) and shrapnel (hollowed out wooden cylinders filled with nails, knives etc). I noticed there was no wheel on this ship. One of the interpreters informed me the merchant ships of the 1600's did not use wheels to steer instead they used whipstaff or a tiller.

Anchored at a another pier, I saw a fourth replica. I was informed that it was the Elizabeth.

Elizabeth

The Elizabeth recently made the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Quad-centennial celebration. Because it had a ship wheel, the Elizabeth is not normal use for static display; however it sometimes double as the Discovery when the Discovery is out sailing.

The final section was a recreation of triangular-shaped James Fort. One of the first buildings erected in the fort was the church, which coincidently was also the first building I entered. Again, you were allowed to enter the various thatched roofed houses where various items used in the daily lives of the colonist were on display. There was a blacksmith shop with interpreters present to talk about how the matchlock muskets were made and used. This demonstration included a live fire of one of the muskets.

James Fort

Our trip to Jamestown settlement ended where it began with a walk through the visitor center. This time we spend sometime walking through the galleries of the museum; however we did it backwards so it was a bit confusing. The galleries are full of interactive displays including a section where you can determine the latitude of the ship during their voyage by using the available astrolabe. There were small-theater presentations covering topics like the 1607 voyage, the various charters and government structures during the 17th Century and the transatlantic slave trade. Also, there were full scale dioramas of the prehistoric Virginia, statues of various Powhatan chiefs and demonstration of technological differences between the African, English and Powhatan cultures.

Exploring Jamestown made for a most pleasant afternoon. Unfortunately now we have to head back up north to DC.