Uncovering the Past at Historic Jamestowne

Historic Jamestowne

Preservation Virginia

Situated on the beautiful banks of the James River, Historic Jamestowne in Virginia, is a short distance from many major roadways and highways in Virginia. If you prefer not to drive, bicycle along the picturesque Virginia Capital Trail, a dedicated, paved bicycle and pedestrian trail, crossing the countryside first inhabited by the Powhatan, Chickahominy, and other Native Americans. The Capital Trail traverses nearly 52 miles, connecting the Colony of Virginia's first capital, Jamestowne, and Virginia's current capital, Richmond. In 2007, Preservation Virginia and the National Park Service rebranded Jamestown Island as “Historic Jamestowne,” where both organizations provide tours, programs, and events year-round.

Upon arriving at the Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center, you can explore Jamestown in many ways. Walk, run, bike, or drive the three/five mile loop of the island, which highlights the variety of the settlers’ industrial endeavors. This three or five-mile loop also gives visitors stunning views of the James River, the regenerating forest, and marshlands.

For nature watchers, there are several hundred species of birds including the Bald Eagle and a variety of mammals like raccoon, opossum, mink, and red tail fox. Not to be out done, reptiles and amphibians such as turtles, lizards, snakes, and frogs also call Historic Jamestowne home. No matter the season, the astonishing magic of Historic Jamestowne’s landscape and waterways are worth the trip.

Historic Jamestowne

Preservation Virginia

Jamestown is as connected to the past as it is to the present. Onsite, enthusiastic, and expert rangers, guides, archeologists, and historians await visitors. Whether taking a guided tour or viewing the Jamestowne Visitor Center’s interpretive exhibits or Voorhees Archaearium Archaeology Museum, visitors will find the complex history of the diverse peoples who inhabited the area before Jamestown and those who built Jamestown critical to the history of the Chesapeake Watershed and to the history of the United States.

Onsite, archeologists, “have found thousands and thousands of Virginia Indian artifacts at Jamestown,” dating to the contact period which is 1607 – 1610. Archeologist, Dave Gibbons, states “for years we've had a very elegant museum talking about the English equation or the English side of the story, and clearly there's another half and that's the Indigenous peoples’ story.”

As a result of other types of primary research by the National Park Service and Jamestown Rediscovery, the public can also learn about the history of Africans and slavery in Jamestown. According to the Jamestown Rediscovery website, “recognition of the importance of Africans to the Jamestown story has been slow to come because of a concerted downplaying or overt suppression of their role both on-site and in history books.”

Because Historic Jamestowne is so critical to the formation of the United States, archeologists and Virginia historians continue digging into the physical land and the primary sources of Historic Jamestown to uncover untold stories of the diverse peoples who inhabited the Jamestowne area in the 1600s and well beyond. These explorations are funded, in part, through the Civil Rights Initiative of the National Park Service, which supports park efforts to expand the understanding and public interpretation of African American histories and heritage within the United States.” In addition to archeology, Colonial National Historical Park is expanding the project to learn more about the people who lived there by engaging with descendant communities and others who might have family knowledge of this history.

The Jamestown Rediscovery website and the National Park Service’s Historic Jamestowne website offer extensive interactive resources, which include primary sources, videos, maps, comprehensive bibliographic suggestions, and the stories told by the meticulous archeological excavations that are ongoing.

This is an abridged article originally authored by Mary Buckelew