BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Jamestown (Colonial NHP)

VA -- Jamestown (Colonial NHP):

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. JAMES_050709_023.JPG: Food and Spirits: The extraordinary number of pipestems and wine bottle fragments identify both the date and purpose of the buildings here. A tavern (in front) was active here between 1665 and 1700, as were a kitchen (in back) and well. The General Assembly occasionally rented such large public spaces for meetings and court hearings, and once paid an innkeeper for use of his premises somewhere in this area of Jamestown. The tavern was nearly 89 feet long. Beneath part of its ground floor was a vaulted wine cellar deep enough to stand in. Another section of the cellar had a window through the back wall, which could make for easy stocking of boxes and barrels. The frame kitchen behind the tavern was identified only by a fireplace foundation and post holes. The well was brick-lined and 11 feet deep.
2. JAMES_050709_036.JPG: Put to the Torch: On the eve of Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, there were at least a dozen brick buildings in Jamestown. This row of four homes was possibly the resident of government officials or tavern-keepers. When Bacon's rebels set fire to the city in 1676, the row burned. It is not known if this row was a particular target of Bacon's men. When the House of Burgesses ordered repairs to the ruined structure in 1680, however, they did note that the complex included "that house where the jail was kept." The row was rebuilt in 1680, but there is no evidence that these homes were used after 1700. Each house was 40 feet long and 24 feet wide, with large H-shaped double fireplaces in the middle of each home. This floor plan greatly resembled a segment of the Third and Fourth Statehouse complex, located at the western edge of town.
3. JAMES_050709_052.JPG: Ditch and Mound: Dozens of open ditches crisscrossed Jamestown. A ditch and its mound would mark a property boundary, line the edge of a road, or drain swampy soil. Ditches also served as handy trash dumps. Two major ditches, several feet wide and hundreds of feed long, intersected at this point.
4. JAMES_050709_062.JPG: The Ambler House: The Ambler House was built by the Ambler family in the 1750s as the centerpiece of a fine plantation estate. A refined Georgian-style home, it was comparable to the elegant George Wythe House in Williamsburg. The house was burned in two wars, and after a third fire in 1895, was abandoned.
5. JAMES_050709_070.JPG: Layers of Living: Standing here in 1650, you would have seen a large frame house, 55 by 20 feet. Returning in 1700, you would have been in the backyard of a fine brick home, and which sat atop the cellar of the old frame house. And coming back on the eve of the Revolution, you would have been in front of the Ambler plantation complex, whose east wing building and walkway covered the brick home's remains. Builders of the brick home, Structure 31, destroyed most evidence of the old frame building, Structure 38. They dug a new cellar right into the old one. Since the older structure was slightly larger, a few of its walls remain. Builders of the Ambler House wing caused less destruction. Since the wing was a frame building without a cellar, the ruins of the brick house remained largely undisturbed in the ground.
6. JAMES_050709_083.JPG: The May-Hartwell Site: Numerous clues suggest who might have lived here. Town records say that William May built a house here around 1661, and that Henry Hartwell lived in this area from 1689 to 1695. Artifacts from this structure and the one behind it dated from Hartwell's residence. Nearby excavations revealed no other foundations from that time period that were likely to have been his home. Several glass bottle seals stamped "HH" were found here. Such seals were typically applied to European wine bottles when shipped to wealthier settlers at Jamestown. Hartwell was an author, a clerk of the General Assembly, and a founder of the College of William & Mary, located in Williamsburg. The formal gardens of the Ambler House were laid down over this plot in the 1700s. Hartwell's house survived only where it fell beneath the brick-rubble garden walks. Plowing has obliterated the rest. Structure 34-37 could have been Hartwell's kitchen. Fragments of a complete earthenware oven and its door were found in this area.
7. JAMES_050709_093.JPG: Loose Change of History: To judge from the many wine bottle fragments in its cellar, this small frame structure served as a store. The changing shape of bottles through the years dated activity here from 1675 to 1725. The clay on top of the cellar floor was free of debris and charred wood, indicating that the structure was dismantled, not burned or abandoned. During the archeological excavations, a French coin dated 1772 was retrieved from a fire pit over the filled-in cellar. It is known that in 1781, the French troops of St. Simon bivouacked here on their way to aid the colonials at Yorktown. Did one of the French soldiers drop a coin by the fire? Only 600 square feet, the structure was unlikely to be a tavern. The paved cellar was four feet deep. It's floor sloped forward to a small square recess, perhaps a place to cool food.
8. JAMES_050709_106.JPG: Row Houses: Several Jamestown families lived in row houses. This row of three houses was occupied at least from 1650 through 1720. Elaborate ironwork found here suggested that the row was handsomely furnished. Perhaps the row was home to the government officials and merchants who prospered in the colony's capital. A great number of pipestems and wine bottle fragments suggest that in later years, the row might have housed its own tavern, or "ordinary." A wit of the day recorded "about a dozen families getting their livings by keeping of ordinaries, at extraordinary rates." The houses were linked along the long side of each house, instead of end-to-end as elsewhere in Jamestown. Each house was about 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep, with separate cellars about four feet deep.
9. JAMES_050709_128.JPG: A Great Find: This modest cottage yielded a premium artifact of Jamestown -- a spoon dated 1675. Made by Joseph Copeland in Chuckatuck, Virginia, the pewter piece provided a time marker for other objects found with it. No other distinctive artifact was found, the remaining household objects being typical of the ordinary house. The large fireplace, though, hinted that the house may have had some additional, industrial use. Brick floors were common in Jamestown. The single line of bricks cutting across the floor was a familiar drainage solution. The break in the pavement of the floor was made in the 1700s, when a drain heading toward the river was dug through the abandoned foundation.
10. JAMES_050709_137.JPG: An Estate in Town: This was the main dwelling of an estate that was active after the capital moved to Williamsburg in 1699. A floor plan and a group of surrounding buildings help to identify this house. The dimensions and the layout of the house were like those of the brick home at Smith's Fort Plantation, in nearby Surry County. Both houses had a central hallway, an architectural feature not used until the 1700s. Several smaller foundations surround this one, and were aligned in the same north/south direction. These were frame-structured outbuildings that served the estate.
11. JAMES_050709_153.JPG: Foundations at Jamestown: The remains of Jamestown now lie beneath the ground. Archeologists have unearthed some of the known town site, but the original foundations of structures would erode quickly if left exposed to wind, weather, and acid rain. The foundations have been reburied. The bricks you see here today are modern reproductions of the original foundations underneath.
12. JAMES_050709_163.JPG: The Graveyard; Archeological evidence implies that this area was used as a burial ground before 1617 when the first church was built on this site. If the man buried in the "Knight's Tomb" just outside the church was Governor George Yeardley, then regular burials commenced here in 1627. The oldest positively identified burial is that of Benjamin Harrison, the first, who died between 1642 and 1649. The earliest known tombstone, now lost, dates from 1682. By 1690, the graveyard covered about one and one-half acres. Its northern boundary (to your left on the other side of the church) was a wooden rail fence about 260 feet long. The graveyard extended westward (behind you) under the Confederate Fort and southward (to your right) to the river bank. The eastern boundary (in front of you) is unknown. Probably it was beyond the iron fence, possibly a considerable distance beyond. After the 1750s, there were fewer burials here since the church was abandoned then. One of the last known burials here was on May 14, 1807, when visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee buried an unknown young man who had "fallen victim to heat and too free use of ice in cider." Possibly some of the 15 Union soldiers who were reported buried on Jamestown Island in 1862 were buried in this graveyard. All totalled, there were probably several hundred burials in the original graveyard. Only about 30 of these were in the church under the floor. Another 50 or more were in the area enclosed by the brick wall in front of you. This wall was built by John Ambler and William Lee in the early 1790s to enclose a small part of the graveyard -- about one-seventh of an acre -- where there families were buried. They used the bricks from the old, ruined church. Even this did not stop the gradual deterioration of the graveyard. Visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee in 1807 commented on the ruined condition of the graveyard, comments which were re-echoed by visitors through the nineteenth century. In the early 1900s, the APVA repaired and restored the 1790s wall. It was repaired again in 1971. There are two other burial grounds on Jamestown Island. One, about 250 yards west (behind you), is near the large wooded Memorial Cross. Perhaps 300 graves are there, probably dating from the earliest times. There are no tombstones there. A second burial ground is the Travis Graveyard, about 1-1/2 miles east and located about 3.2 miles from the start of the Island Loop Drive. Three tombstones mark seven known and several unknown graves there.
13. JAMES_050709_180.JPG: Extensive excavations continue in Jamestown. They dig up everything, look for clues, and then put it back the way it was.
14. JAMES_050709_184.JPG: In Honour of the First General Assembly of Virginia. Here on the thirteenth day of July A.D. 1616, summoned by Sir George Yeardley, Governor General of Virginia, under authority from the London Company, pursuant to the charter granted by King James I, was convened in the church at Jamestown the first General Assembly of Virginia. This assembly, composed of the Governor, the council of state, and two burgesses elected by the people from each of the eleven plantations was the beginning of representative government in the colonies of England and laid the foundation of the liberties of America.
15. JAMES_050709_192.JPG: The Graveyard; Archeological evidence implies that this area was used as a burial ground before 1617 when the first church was built on this site. If the man buried in the "Knight's Tomb" just outside the church was Governor George Yeardley, then regular burials commenced here in 1627. The oldest positively identified burial is that of Benjamin Harrison, the first, who died between 1642 and 1649. The earliest known tombstone, now lost, dates from 1682. By 1690, the graveyard covered about one and one-half acres. Its northern boundary (to your left on the other side of the church) was a wooden rail fence about 260 feet long. The graveyard extended westward (behind you) under the Confederate Fort and southward (to your right) to the river bank. The eastern boundary (in front of you) is unknown. Probably it was beyond the iron fence, possibly a considerable distance beyond. After the 1750s, there were fewer burials here since the church was abandoned then. One of the last known burials here was on May 14, 1807, when visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee buried an unknown young man who had "fallen victim to heat and too free use of ice in cider." Possibly some of the 15 Union soldiers who were reported buried on Jamestown Island in 1862 were buried in this graveyard. All totalled, there were probably several hundred burials in the original graveyard. Only about 30 of these were in the church under the floor. Another 50 or more were in the area enclosed by the brick wall in front of you. This wall was built by John Ambler and William Lee in the early 1790s to enclose a small part of the graveyard -- about one-seventh of an acre -- where there families were buried. They used the bricks from the old, ruined church. Even this did not stop the gradual deterioration of the graveyard. Visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee in 1807 commented on the ruined condition of the graveyard, comments which were re-echoed by visitors through the nineteenth century. In the early 1900s, the APVA repaired and restored the 1790s wall. It was repaired again in 1971. There are two other burial grounds on Jamestown Island. One, about 250 yards west (behind you), is near the large wooded Memorial Cross. Perhaps 300 graves are there, probably dating from the earliest times. There are no tombstones there. A second burial ground is the Travis Graveyard, about 1-1/2 miles east and located about 3.2 miles from the start of the Island Loop Drive. Three tombstones mark seven known and several unknown graves there.
16. JAMES_050709_193.JPG: The Graveyard; Archeological evidence implies that this area was used as a burial ground before 1617 when the first church was built on this site. If the man buried in the "Knight's Tomb" just outside the church was Governor George Yeardley, then regular burials commenced here in 1627. The oldest positively identified burial is that of Benjamin Harrison, the first, who died between 1642 and 1649. The earliest known tombstone, now lost, dates from 1682. By 1690, the graveyard covered about one and one-half acres. Its northern boundary (to your left on the other side of the church) was a wooden rail fence about 260 feet long. The graveyard extended westward (behind you) under the Confederate Fort and southward (to your right) to the river bank. The eastern boundary (in front of you) is unknown. Probably it was beyond the iron fence, possibly a considerable distance beyond. After the 1750s, there were fewer burials here since the church was abandoned then. One of the last known burials here was on May 14, 1807, when visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee buried an unknown young man who had "fallen victim to heat and too free use of ice in cider." Possibly some of the 15 Union soldiers who were reported buried on Jamestown Island in 1862 were buried in this graveyard. All totalled, there were probably several hundred burials in the original graveyard. Only about 30 of these were in the church under the floor. Another 50 or more were in the area enclosed by the brick wall in front of you. This wall was built by John Ambler and William Lee in the early 1790s to enclose a small part of the graveyard -- about one-seventh of an acre -- where there families were buried. They used the bricks from the old, ruined church. Even this did not stop the gradual deterioration of the graveyard. Visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee in 1807 commented on the ruined condition of the graveyard, comments which were re-echoed by visitors through the nineteenth century. In the early 1900s, the APVA repaired and restored the 1790s wall. It was repaired again in 1971. There are two other burial grounds on Jamestown Island. One, about 250 yards west (behind you), is near the large wooded Memorial Cross. Perhaps 300 graves are there, probably dating from the earliest times. There are no tombstones there. A second burial ground is the Travis Graveyard, about 1-1/2 miles east and located about 3.2 miles from the start of the Island Loop Drive. Three tombstones mark seven known and several unknown graves there.
17. JAMES_050709_197.JPG: The Graveyard; Archeological evidence implies that this area was used as a burial ground before 1617 when the first church was built on this site. If the man buried in the "Knight's Tomb" just outside the church was Governor George Yeardley, then regular burials commenced here in 1627. The oldest positively identified burial is that of Benjamin Harrison, the first, who died between 1642 and 1649. The earliest known tombstone, now lost, dates from 1682. By 1690, the graveyard covered about one and one-half acres. Its northern boundary (to your left on the other side of the church) was a wooden rail fence about 260 feet long. The graveyard extended westward (behind you) under the Confederate Fort and southward (to your right) to the river bank. The eastern boundary (in front of you) is unknown. Probably it was beyond the iron fence, possibly a considerable distance beyond. After the 1750s, there were fewer burials here since the church was abandoned then. One of the last known burials here was on May 14, 1807, when visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee buried an unknown young man who had "fallen victim to heat and too free use of ice in cider." Possibly some of the 15 Union soldiers who were reported buried on Jamestown Island in 1862 were buried in this graveyard. All totalled, there were probably several hundred burials in the original graveyard. Only about 30 of these were in the church under the floor. Another 50 or more were in the area enclosed by the brick wall in front of you. This wall was built by John Ambler and William Lee in the early 1790s to enclose a small part of the graveyard -- about one-seventh of an acre -- where there families were buried. They used the bricks from the old, ruined church. Even this did not stop the gradual deterioration of the graveyard. Visitors to the Jamestown Jubilee in 1807 commented on the ruined condition of the graveyard, comments which were re-echoed by visitors through the nineteenth century. In the early 1900s, the APVA repaired and restored the 1790s wall. It was repaired again in 1971. There are two other burial grounds on Jamestown Island. One, about 250 yards west (behind you), is near the large wooded Memorial Cross. Perhaps 300 graves are there, probably dating from the earliest times. There are no tombstones there. A second burial ground is the Travis Graveyard, about 1-1/2 miles east and located about 3.2 miles from the start of the Island Loop Drive. Three tombstones mark seven known and several unknown graves there.
18. JAMES_050709_215.JPG: Jamestown Church: Since the colony of Jamestown was chartered by the King of England, the Anglican Church was its official religion. Everyone had to attend services. Initially held under at a shrine under a tattered sailcloth, services were moved to a new timber church when that was built. In January 1608, there was a great fire which burned the wooden fort as well as the church and both had to be rebuilt in the cold of winter. The new church is believed to be where Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, married John Rolfe in April 1614. In 1617, a new frame church was built outside of the fort (and was located roughly where the current church is). In 1619, the first representative legislative assembly in the New World met inside this church and set a pattern of self-government for all of the American colonies. In 1639, the church was razed to make way for a new brick church. A brick tower was added to it in 1647, slightly over 18 feet square with walls three feet thick at the base. Originally the tower was about 46 feet high (ten feet higher than the ruins) and was crowned with a wooden roof and belfry. It had two upper floors. Six small openings at the top permitted light to enter and the sound of the bell or bells to carry across river and town. On September 19, 1676, the fourth church was burned during Bacon's Rebellion. Ten years later, a fifth church was functioning, probably using the walls and foundations of the fourth church. The tower was undamaged and intact. The church was used until the 1750s when it was abandoned. Although the tower remained intact, the building fell into ruins by the 1790s when the bricks were salvaged and used to built the present graveyard wall. Throughout the nineteenth century, the tower remained a silent symbol to Americans of their early heritage. It was strengthened and preserved shortly after the APVA acquired it in the 1890s. The partially-ruined tower remains to this day -- the only 17th century structure standing above ground at Jamestown -- and was used as the anchor for the new church -- the Memorial Church -- which was built in 1906 by the National Society, Colonial Dames of America, just outside the foundations of the earlier churches. It was dedicated May 13, 1907. Inside the new church, you can see the brick and cobblestone foundations of the 1617 frame church and the brick foundation of the 1639 church. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), a non-profit organization, has owned, preserved, and administered the Jamestown National Historic Site since 1892. The organization was founded in 1889 and owns/maintains thirty-four historic properties throughout Virginia, from the Eastern Shore to Fredericksburg to Montgomery County to Virginia Beach.
19. JAMES_050709_244.JPG: The Jamestown Churches The First and Second Churches -- Captain John Smith reported that the first church services were held outdoors "under and awning (which was an old saile)" fastened to three or four trees. Shortly thereafter the settlers built the first church inside the fort. Smith said it was "a homely thing like a ???? set on ??????, covered with rafts, sedge and earth. " This church burned in January, 1608 and was replaced by a second church , similar to the first. Made of wood it needed constant repair, Pocahontas and John Rolfe were married in the second church. The Third Church -- In 1617-1619 when Samuel Argall was Governor, he had the inhabitants of Jamestown build a new church "50 foot long and twenty foot broad." It was a wooden church built on a foundation of cobblestone's one foot wide capped by a wall one brick thick. You can see these foundations under the glass on the floor of the present building. The First Assembly was held in the third church. The Fourth Church -- In January, 1639 Governor John Harvey reported that he, the Council, the ablest planters and some sea captains "had contributed to the building of a brick church" at Jamestown. This church was slightly larger than the third church and was built around it. It was still unfinished in November, 1647 when efforts were made to complete it. After it was finished the church tower was added. The ruins of this church tower are the ones you see to your right. The tower is the only seventeenth-century building still standing at Jamestown. It is one of the oldest English-built structures in the United States. The tower is slightly over 18 feet square and the walls are three feet thick at the base. Originally the tower was about 46 feet high (ten feet higher than the ruins) and was crowned with a wooden roof and belfry. It had two upper floors as you can see from the large beam notches on the inside. Six small openings at the top permitted light to enter and the sound of the bell or bells to carry across river and town. The Fifth Church -- The fourth church burned during Bacon's Rebellion on September 19, 1676. Ten years later a fifth church was functioning, probably using the walls and foundations of the fourth church. The tower was undamaged and intact. This church was used until the 1750's when it was abandoned. Although the tower remained intact, the building fell into ruins by the 1790s when the bricks were salvaged and used to build the present graveyard wall. Throughout the nineteenth century the tower remained a silent symbol to Americans of their early heritage. It was strengthened and preserved shortly after the A.P.V.A. acquired it in the 1890s. The Present Church -- The present Memorial Church building was constructed in 1906 by the National Society, Colonial Dames of America just outside the foundations of the earlier churches. It was dedicated May 13, 1907.
20. JAMES_050709_260.JPG: Pocahontas: Pocahontas was the favorite daughter of Powhatan, who ruled the Powhatan Confederacy. She was born about 1595, probably at Werowocomoco 16 miles from Jamestown. Captain John Smith believed she had saved his life twice during the colony's first years. In 1608-1609, she was a frequent and welcome visitor to Jamestown, often bringing gifts of food from her father. From 1609 to 1613, she was part of Indian society and was not seen by the settlers. In April, 1613, she was captured by the English while she was living on the Potomac River and was brought to Jamestown as a hostage. She soon converted to Christianity and was baptized. Her marriage to John Rolfe in April, 1614 helped to establish peaceful relations between the Indians and the English. In 1616, she visited England with her husband and infant son, Thomas, and was presented to the Royal Court. While returning to Virginia, she died on March 21, 1617 and was buried in St. George's Church in Gravesend, England. Today, many Americans claim descent from her through her son and granddaughter. The statue, by William Ordway Partridge, was erected in 1922.
21. JAMES_050709_274.JPG: The People of Virginia: By 1625, nearly 8,000 people had come to Virginia. Most either died shortly after their arrival or returned to England. Only 1,218 remained alive to be counted in the census that year. In the census, male outnumbered females 942 to 276. Sixty percent of the population were young adults between 15 and 29 years old. Another 15 percent were in their thirties and only 8 percent were 40 years old or older. Most of the people were single; only about one-third of those over sixteen were married. Three-quarters of the marriages occurred in Virginia. Half of all couples were childless and only 8 had three or more children. The 507 servants made up slightly over 40 percent of the population and included 23 blacks. The population of Virginia grew from these 1,218 persons in 1625 to about 4,900 in 1634, 14.500 in 1653, 32,000 in 1674, and 62,000 in 1699. However, the early characteristics of the population persisted. Virginia remained primarily masculine and primarily young. Families continued to be formed here in Virginia and children were present in fewer numbers than in other settlements. Women first came to Virginia in 1608. Thereafter, they arrived, usually as single servant girls, in slowly increasing numbers. In 1620 and 1621, the Virginia Company sent a total of 157 carefully chosen young, single women to the colony. They were free to marry whomever they pleased provided the successful suitor paid the 150 pounds of tobacco for their passage. Many were married almost immediately upon arrival and few waited as long as three months. In the seventeenth century, married women had no property rights and little control of their welfare. However, in Virginia women had more prestige and control of their welfare than in seventeenth-century England because of their scarcity. Widows with property were sought after as marriage partners. Unmarried women had full ownership of property and even a husband could not sell his own land without his wife's approval. Women were also equal partners in child-rearing and the courts rarely approved actions pertaining to children which were opposed by their mothers. Most of the people who came to Virginia in the seventeenth century (about 75 percent) came as indentured white servants. They agreed to work for a master, usually for four to five years, in return for passage to Virginia, food, shelter and clothing. They could not marry while they were servants without their master's permission. Many did, and had to serve an extra year or two. When servants completed their time, they received "freedom dues" of tools, clothing, and food. Then they usually worked for wages for a few years to save a little money. Often they bought a little land, occasionally a servant and some livestock, and became small tobacco farmers. A few became spectacular successes and joined Virginia's emerging aristocracy. The number of blacks in Virginia increased from the 23 reported in the 1625 census to about 2,000 by the end of the century. Initially, they were treated as other indentured servants and set free upon completion of their terms. By the 1650s, black servants were serving longer terms than white English servants, in some cases, life terms. Gradually, lifetime service became customary for black servants but slavery was not legally codified until the 1660s and 1670s.
22. JAMES_050709_275.JPG: The First Voyage and Settlement: "On Saturday the twentieth of December in the yeere 1606, the fleet fell from London and the fifth of January we anchored in the Downes: but the winds continued contrairie so long that we were forced to stay there some time [six weeks]." So wrote George Percy about the departure of the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery with 105 English men and boys plus 39 sailors for Virginia. The expedition reached the West Indies on March 23, 1607 and spent nearly three weeks "refreshing ourselves amongst these West-India isles" as John Smith tersely wrote. Percy continued, "the tenth day [of April] we set out saile, and disimboged out of the West Indies; and bare oure course Northerly... The sixth and twentieth day of April, about four o'clock in the morning, we descried the Land of Virginia." On April 29, the expedition "set up a crosse at Chesupioc Bay and named that place Cape Henry." The next day, they entered the James River and sailed leisurely up it to this island. They chose the island as their settlement place primarily because the channel depth allowed them to moor the ships to trees on the shore. Furthermore, Jamestown was far enough up the river to avoid detection by the Spanish. It was relatively easy to defend, there was adequate land and no Indians appeared to be living here. Once they arrived, John Smith reported "Now falleth every man to worke, the Council contrive the Fort, the rest cut downe trees to match place to pitch their Tents; some provide clapbord to relade the ships; some make gardens, some nets, etc." The settlement had made an auspicious start.
23. JAMES_050709_278.JPG: Motives for Settlement: As England matured and stabilized during Queen Elizabeth's reign, many Englishmen dreamed of empires in the New World. Many dreamed of vast riches for the taking, of streets paved with gold, and of exotic plants and animals. Some dreamed of converting the Indians to Christianity and saw therein an opportunity to further god's will. Others had patriotic dreams of colonies which would demonstrate England's superiority. A growing number of Englishmen saw in the New World a solution to England's increasing problems with the poor, the uprooted, the unemployed, the shiftless and the criminal. They believed England was becoming overpopulated, and they welcomed colonies as places to send these people. A few, among them the geographer Richard Hakluyt the elder, understood England's need for colonies in economic terms. Colonies would supply England with products she had to purchase, products such as silk, furs, wine, sugar, spices and naval stores. Furthermore, colonies would be markets for English goods. The colonial trade would employ ships and sailors and bring prosperity to those who supplied them. By 1600, all of these dreams were motives for settlement.
24. JAMES_050709_282.JPG: The Virginia Company of London: On April 10, 1606, King James granted a charter to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard Hakluyt the younger, Edward Maria Wingfield, Thomas Hannam, Raleigh Gilbert, William Parker, George Popham, and diverse others to establish the Virginia Company. This was a joint-stock company. Any "Adventurer" who paid 12 pounds 10 shillings to the company's treasurer could participate in the company's affairs and any division of profits. The company was reorganized in 1609 as the Virginia Company of London. It financed and supervised the settlement of Virginia. The Virginia Company of London appointed the Council of Virginia, the Governor and other officials. It made the laws for the colony and sent settlers, ships and supplies to Virginia. Though organized for profit, the company was always in financial straits. Consequently, it resorted to operating lotteries, searching for gold and precious metals and trying to raise silkworms in Virginia. It granted large tracts of land to adventurers willing to pay the costs of a private settlement and licensed shipowners to make voyages here at their own risk. The Virginia Company initially received widespread popular support for its work in an outpouring of patriotic fervor. However, the constant negative reports from Virginia, the high mortality among the settlers, natural disasters and the lack of profits hurt the company badly. The realities of life in Virginia often made a mockery of the company's goals. In the early 1620s, the company was wracked by bitter factional strife between the followers of Sir Thomas Smith and Sir George Sandys. Finally, this strife, the terrible death rate in Virginia, the constant reports of the company's bad management and the Indian Massacre of March 22, 1622 forced the King to seek the company's dissolution. In 1624, the Virginia Company lost its charter and the colony passed under Royal control. Most of the settlers despised the company. Yet the company instituted many good practices including the orderly transfer of land to private hands, the growth and marketing of tobacco, and the establishment of a representative Assembly. The Virginia Company's greatest achievement, however, was the successful settlement of Virginia.
25. JAMES_050709_314.JPG: 1607 James Fort North Bulwark: You are looking at the remains of the junction between the east palisade and the north bulwark of 1607 James Fort. The exciting find allows Jamestown Rediscovery archeologists to determine the exact outline of the fort, as well as see the fort's expansion after the fire in the winter of 1608. In the wall straight ahead, you can see the layers of earth the archeologists had to remove to find these features. Imagine how the person digging felt, after moving all that dirt, when he finally found the stains left in the soil after almost 400 years!
26. JAMES_050709_319.JPG: Maize: Maize, or corn as we call it today, was the great gift of the Indians to the settlers. The Indians planted five or six kernels in a hill together with beans and pumpkins. They spaced the hills four to five feet apart and thinned them to two or three plants per hill. Thereafter, little work was needed until harvest. When harvested, the plants stood six to ten feet high and produced one to four ears per plant with 500 to 700 kernels per ear. These were shelled by hand and pounded in a mortar with a pestle. From the beginning, the settlers traded with the Indians for maize. They soon learned how to grow it, but not until 1619 did they raise enough to supply the colony without Indian help. The colonists adopted Indian methods, although they often added peas, squash, or melons to the hills. Shelling was done with flails instead of by hand and the kernels were ground in small hand mills or pounded in a mortar and pestle. The leaves and tops were often picked while green, dried and used for fodder. Corn was traded by the barrel which contained five bushels and weighed 280 pounds. Normally, one sold for 10 to 12 shillings per barrel (about three to four days' wages).
27. JAMES_050709_320.JPG: Tobacco: When the settlers arrived, they found the Indians smoking a native tobacco, Nicotiana rustica, which was "but poor and weak and of a biting taste." By 1612, John Rolfe, a confirmed tobacco smoker, was experimenting with Nicotiana tobacum, a variety from Trinidad. In 1613, he sent 105 pounds to England which was well received. Thereafter, tobacco production increased from 2,300 pounds in 1615 to 1,500,000 pounds by 1629. In the seventeenth century, tobacco seeds -- which were so small that 10,000 fit in a teaspoon -- were sown in early spring in beds. In May, the plants were transplanted to small hills, about 1,000 to an acre. The flower was removed from the plant in June as were the suckers which constantly sprouted leaving from 10 to 25 leaves per stalk. The plants were harvested in late August or September, allowed to dry briefly in the sun, then the stalks were split nearly to the bottom of the plant. These were hung, first on lines, later on oak splints in tobacco sheds to cure. When cured, the tobacco was packed tightly in hogsheads (barrels), rolled or carted to waiting ships and sent to England. Before being used, tobacco was spun into long ropes. Pieces were then cut off and smoked in long-stemmed, white clay pipes.
28. JAMES_050709_328.JPG: The Indians: The Indians in eastern Virginia whom the settlers encountered in 1607 were members of the Algonquian stock. They were divided into about 35 different tribes although all spoke a similar language. John Smith estimated that the Indians had about 3,000 fighting men; perhaps the total population was about 8,000. The Indians lived a semi-nomadic life. In the spring, they gathered in about 160 villages along the shores of the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac rivers and their tributaries. There they fed on oysters, clams, crabs, and fish and planted their crops of corn, beans, and pumpkins. As summer approached, they dispersed into the uplands and lived on berried, fruits, and game. They gathered in their villages again in autumn, harvested their crops and gorged themselves. Then they dispersed again in small groups to forage for the winter. Warfare and lengthy religious ceremonies interrupted the routine. In the thirty years before the settlers arrived, the Pamunkey Indians, led by their powerful chieftain Powhatan, conquered most of the tribes between the James and Potomac rivers. These tribes kept their own chiefs (called werowances) but paid tribute of corn and other commodities to Powhatan. They also provided men to fight Powhatan's enemies to the north and west. This loose confederation, known as the Powhatan Confederacy, faced the settlers. Fortunately, the Indians were not sure how to treat the settlers. Some Indians wanted peace and trade, others wanted to exterminate the settlement. After some years of indecision, Powhatan made peace with the settlers in 1614, a peace sometimes known as the "Peace of Pocahontas." It was shattered on March 22, 1622 when the Indians rose against the settlers in an attempt to drive them out of Virginia. Jamestown was spared when Richard Pace -- told of the impending attack by an Indian boy Chanco -- warned the town. However, 347 settlers were killed on the outlying plantations. Warfare followed as the settlers retaliated. Finally, peace returned in the 1630s. This was shattered on April 18, 1644 when the Indians again rose and killed 500 settlers, mostly on the frontiers near the falls of the rivers. Warfare again followed and the Indians were defeated. Thereafter, peaceful relations came to eastern Virginia except for isolated incidents. The Indian attacks of 1676 which led, in part, to Bacon's Rebellion, were caused by other pressures and other Indians. The clash of cultures between the Indians and the settlers was acted out in many places: Jamestown, Werowocomoco, the shores of the rivers, the Indian villages, and the Virginia plantations. There were many people involved: John Smith, Powhatan, Opechankano, Governors Dale, Yeardley, and Berkeley, and others. In the end, the settlers won because of military and numerical superiority.
29. JAMES_050709_370.JPG: The Archaearium at Historic Jamestowne: Opening May 2006. The Archaearium is breaking new ground in the interpretation of Historic Jamestowne's rich archeological heritage. The facility has been located among the remains of the Statehouse Complex foundations (ca. 17th Century), and the remains of many early settlers. The facility will combine the intriguing aspects of historical archeology with interactive and traditional museum exhibitry. In response to preserving the site's archeological integrity, the structure will rest on innovative lightweight pier construction - which is delicately threaded among the historic fabric. Owner: APVA (The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities). Partner: National Park Service.
30. JAMES_050709_378.JPG: Bacon's Rebellion: Near where you are standing, 27-year-old Nathaniel Bacon, with over 500 armed followers, demanded a commission for 70-year-old Governor Sir William Berkeley authorizing him to lead his followers against the Indians. It was June 23, 1676, and the Assembly was meeting. Twice before, the Governor had refused to grant the commission to Bacon. Once, he had captured Bacon, then pardoned him. This time, thoroughly enraged, the Governor strode out of the statehouse, his Council following, approached Bacon and denounced him as a traitor and rebel. Dramatically, he bared his breast to Bacon and cried out, "Here! Shoot me! Before god, a fair mark, shoot!" Then he drew his sword and challenged Bacon to a fight. Bacon answered him that he had come to redress the people's grievances and added, "I came not nor intend to hurt a hair on your Honor's head, and for your sword your Honor may please to put it up, it shall rust in the scabbard before ever I shall desire you to draw it. I came for a commission against the Heathen who daily inhumanely murder us and spill our brethren's blood, and no care taken to prevent it." Then, losing control of himself, he swore, "God damn my blood, I came for a commission and a commission I will have before I go." Seeing the members of the Assembly leaning out windows of the upper story of the statehouse, he instructed his soldiers to shoot at them. Someone wisely cried out not to shoot, they would see that Bacon received his commission. The next day, a furious Berkeley signed the commission and Bacon left, ending one of many confrontations in Bacon's Rebellion. Bacon's Rebellion had many causes. Indian attacks on the frontier were an important one. Real or imagined grievances of the smaller planters and farmers against an aristocratic and unresponsive government were another. Underlying those causes were a decade-long depression caused by low tobacco prices and the social strains caused when new and wealthy immigrants displaced native settlers in positions of power. Fueled by these powerful forces, Bacon and Berkeley let a minor dispute over the right to lead an expedition against the Indians erupt into a civil war. Jamestown was the scene of a number of the events. Both sides occupied the town, retreated from it, and reoccupied it. Finally, on September 19, 1676, Bacon attacked the island from the isthmus (over which you came to arrive on the island). He occupied the town, then burned it to the ground, although he had saved all government records. Berkeley fled to the Eastern Shore. Five weeks later, Bacon died in Gloucester County. Thereafter, Berkeley was able to defeat the remnants of Bacon's followers (he hanged 22) until the last of them surrendered in January, 1677. One of the last places recaptured was Arthur Allen's brick house in Surry County. Known as "Bacon's Castle" since the late eighteenth century, it is now owned and preserved by the APVA.
31. JAMES_050709_382.JPG: The Yeardley House: This house was built as a director's residence in 1907 and given to the APVA by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. It is named for Sir George Yeardley (1587-1627), three times Governor of Virginia.
32. JAMES_050709_397.JPG: An archeological tent
33. JAMES_050709_405.JPG: Dale House: Built in 1907, the Colonial Revival style Dale House will be remodeled to provide food and beverage service with a shaded place to sit, relax, and view the James River.
34. JAMES_050709_421.JPG: The Confederate fort
35. JAMES_050709_435.JPG: The Hunt Shrine: This shrine is dedicated to the memory of Reverend Robert Hunt (1568-1608), the first Anglican minister of the colony.
36. JAMES_050709_438.JPG: An Early Well: This well was probably built about 1617 and filled in by the mid-1620s. Archeologists uncovered it during the 2002 excavation season. Tests of the water indicated it was drinkable. The top portion of the well was rebuilt using some of the original bricks removed during the excavation. Scattered throughout the fill were pieces of armor. At the completion of the armor, we had enough for an entire suit of armor! The bottom of the well contained several unusual finds. Leather shoes and pewter pitchers, which usually disintegrate in the soil, survived in the watery environment.
37. JAMES_050709_475.JPG: Excavating James Fort: Jamestown rediscovery archaeologists dig using a grid of 10' squares. The fine black lines represent this grid. White squares show areas already excavated between 1994 and early 2004. Some of these areas have been backfilled. The red outlines mark James Fort period features.
38. JAMES_050709_563.JPG: Tercentenary Monument
39. JAMES_050709_584.JPG: Since the four-hundred year anniversary of the founding of Jamestown was coming in 2007, they had big plans for revitalizing the site. There is a new, higher pedestrian bridge planned to cross the Pitch and Tar Swamp to get to the settlement. There's a new visitor center with full multimedia show and artifact exhibits. There's an archaeology center, the "Archaearium," where you'll be able to see new finds made on the island. There are also new interpretive exhibits and other things planned. The web site to follow their progress is http://www.historicjamestowne.org
40. JAMES_050709_597.JPG: A commuter boat that carries cars across the river
41. JAMES_050709_602.JPG: These boats are part of the state-run Jamestown Settlement. They are full-size reproductions of the boats that carried the first settlers.
42. JAMES_050709_616.JPG: The Glasshouse: The Glass Packaging Institute contributed to the erection of this replica of the Glasshouse. The first exhibit structure constructed by the Jamestown Glasshouse Foundation was destroyed by fire in October 1974 and has been replaced by this building on May 8 1976. This marks the continuing effort of the Glass Packaging Institute to commemorate America's first industry. This tablet erected by the Institute 1976.
43. JAMES_050709_622.JPG: The Glasshouse Melting Pot: Glasshouse Point, now a peaceful woodland setting, was once the site of one of America's first industries, bring to Virginia's shores a variety of peoples from across the Atlantic. For thousands of years before European settlement, American Indians hunted and fished here. Archeologists have uncovered pottery shards, projectile points, and fire-cracked rocks, indicating the presence of ancient Indian campsites. The Virginia Company of London encouraged early manufacture and the search for valuable raw materials. Captain John Smith recounted that, in 1608, the Company sent "eight Dutchmen and Poles" to Virginia to manufacture pitch, tar, glass, and soap ashes. William Strachey, another early settler, recalled that "A goodly howse... with all offices and furnaces thereto belonging" was erected. According to Smith, only one trial of glass was made, due to lack of both supplies and basic survival skills. By 1620, the colony was in better condition and glassmaking was attempted again. Captain William Norton, in his 1621 petition, asked leave to set up "a Glasse furnace and make all manner of Beads & Glasse." Italian craftsmen arrived to work at Glasshouse Point. This second attempt fared as badly as the first. George Sandys, an early Jamestown settler, listed many reasons for the "ill success of ye glasse works," including the Powhatan Indian Uprising of 1622, a furnace explosion, sickness among the craftsmen, and a tempest that blew down the Glasshouse. Twentieth-century archeologists discovered evidence of this early industry, including the ruins of three furnaces, one kiln, cullet (broken glass), and shards of melting pots, and drippings of green glass. In 1624, glass-blowing ceased at Jamestown, but not before bringing people from several countries to the colony. At Glasshouse Point, American Indians, English, Germans, Poles and Italians entered the American melting pot.
44. JAMES_050709_630.JPG: The Main Working Furnace melted the glass and kept it at a working temperature.
45. JAMES_050709_634.JPG: Remnants of the main working furnace, which melted the glass and kept it at a working temperature.
46. JAMES_050709_638.JPG: The glass house is where artisans demonstrate the craft of 17th-century glass-blowing. The Glass Packaging Institute contributed to the erection of this replica of the Glasshouse. The first exhibit structure constructed by the Jamestown Glasshouse Foundation was destroyed by fire in October 1974 and has been replaced by this building on May 8 1976.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Historic Jamestown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century town of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia and operated as a partnership between Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) and the U.S. National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park.

The site was designated Jamestown National Historic Site on December 18, 1940, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in 2007 by the American Chemical Society. It is adjacent and complementary with Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum built run by the Commonwealth of Virginia to interpret the early colony.
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