Jamestown Settlement

After visiting the original site of Jamestown we traveled a little further on to have a look at the "Jamestown Settlement" which is a living history museum operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia.  It was created in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park for the 350th anniversary.  The entry to the Settlement displays the flags of all US states.

The Settlement is a recreation of times past.

The Settlement allows the tourist to relive the experiences of America first permanent colony.  Very near the site of the original colony, Jamestown tells the story of the 17th century Virginia; from the arrival of the English colonists in Jamestown in 1607.

Fort James depicts the Virginia Company of London's 1610 - 14 military outpost .  Inside the triangle wooden palisade of the re-created fort are wattle -and- daub structures topped with thatched roofs, depicting dwellings, such as an Anglican church, court of guard, a store house, a cape merchant's office and a Govenor's house.

The Anglican Church.

The vegetable garden's.

It also provides the opportunity to explore the Powhatan way of life.  There is a re-created village featuring reed- covered houses, crops and ceremonial circle of carved wooden posts.  This village is based on archaeological findings at a site once inhabited by Paspahegh Indians, the Powhatan tribal group closest to Jamestown, and descriptions recorded by English colonists.

The re-creations of the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607.

The original Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery set sail from London on December 20, 1606, bound for Virginia. The ships carried 105 passengers and 39 crew members on the four-month transatlantic voyage. A 17th-century source noted that a total of 71 people were aboard the Susan Constant, 52 aboard the Godspeed and 21 aboard the Discovery. The expedition was sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, a business venture that had been organized to form a colony in Virginia. The fleet reached the Virginia coast in late April and, after two weeks of inland waterway exploration, arrived at the selected settlement site on May 13, 1607.

At the time of the voyage, the Susan Constant was about one year old and was leased from Dapper, Wheatley, Colthurst and other partners. The origins of the Godspeed and Discovery are uncertain. The Susan Constant and Godspeed returned to England in June 1607, while the Discovery remained in Virginia and was used for Chesapeake Bay and coastal exploration.

Diagram of Discovery.

The Discovery, the smallest of the 3 ships. 

Cheers,
Beverley and Ross