Witness America’s Beginnings, from an English colony in 1607 to an independent nation in 1781.
On May 13, 1607, Jamestown was established as the first permanent English settlement in North America. Three cultures came together – European, Virginia Indian and African–to create a new society that would eventually seek independence from Great Britain. On October 19, 1781, American and French troops defeated the British at Yorktown in the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War.
Features
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Yorktown Battlefield
Explore the site of the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War that secured independence for the United States.
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Historic Jamestowne
Discover the beginnings of Great Britain’s successful colonization of America where the first permanent English colony began in 1607.
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Colonial Parkway
This 23-mile scenic byway connects Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown as it meanders along woodlands, wetlands tidal creeks and rivers.
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Cape Henry Memorial
View the Jamestown settlers’ first landing site in Virginia and overlook the sea waters where the crucial naval Battle of the Capes took place.
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Did You Know?
In 1604, disgusted with his subject’s use of tobacco, King James wrote a scathing commentary entitled A Counterblast to Tobacco. He considered tobacco “hatefull to the nose, harmefull to the braine, dangerous to the lungs.” Yet this golden leaf became the cash crop saving Jamestown from oblivion.