Out and about around Williamsburg, Va: Historic Jamestowne
- lfreas
- Jul 27, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: May 28, 2023
Last visited 4/22
We stayed at Wyndham Williamsburg Kingsgate
So, yes, I know what you are thinking. This isn't really off the beaten track. You are right. BUT...this is a great place to visit, especially on off season. I went with Nathan, my mom, and niece over Thanksgiving week a few years ago, and we had a delightful time sitting at the small cafe having some hot chocolate and pastries with very few people milling around us. Summer months will not be the same atmosphere, so choose your timing wisely.
What makes this place so cool? This area was chartered by King James I in 1606 as an established colony in the New World. It is owned jointly by the NPS and a privately owned foundation, so it is not free like some state or national parks tend to be. Find more information here: https://historicjamestowne.org/
To start your visit, you will park at the visitors center, where you will need to buy a ticket to visit this area. Adults are $30, and children under 15 are free. There is a discount available if you show a receipt from the Yorktown Battlefield, which will make an adult ticket come down to $15 a person. The visitors center is well maintained and clean. It gives you a very nice background of Jamestown's history. After that, you will venture to Historic Jamestowne proper via a small bridge that takes you over a tidal marsh where sharp eyes will be able to find loads of turtles, snakes, muskrats and wading birds.
Start your visit at the historic Jamestowne museum, which has displays of daily life spanning from the native Americans living in the area to those that lived within the fort. It is situated over top the original state house foundations, which can be seen by the front door of the building.
104 people traveled from Britain to colonize the area, seek new gold deposits, and try to find a water passageway to the Pacific. However, within two years the settlers were finding themselves in a state of disease, famine and attacks from the local Powhatan Indians that left only 60 of the original 300 settlers alive by 1610. During this time, many of the settlers starved to death, and it is at this location where the first documented act of cannibalism is found. They think that the young woman had died of natural causes, not been killed, but had been scavenged after death. They found her bones discarded in the cellar of a home surrounded by the skeletons of other meat animals like horses and dogs. Her bones bear the marks of cleaver or ax marks resulting from the butchering, especially around her face due to the brain, tongue and cheeks being first to be consumed.
Jamestown is also the first recorded location in the new world where brain surgery was attempted. The skull shows a hole as a result of trepanning, a procedure that tries to alleviate pressure inside the skull.
This is also the home of Pocahontas who married John Rolfe and established a new era of peace and prosperity.
Currently, archaeologists continue to excavate the area in an effort to understand daily life at the fort. They are often seen doing their research, and are happy to answer questions that visitors have.
Finally, make sure to stop at the Jamestown Glasshouse, where you can watch a demonstration of glassblowing and buy some really nice handmade souvenirs.
Comments