Historic, Jamestown

Monday Oct. 25, 2010
Visited “Historic” Jamestown, the original town site of the first permanent English settlement. We took a ranger tour and also attended a talk with a character actor dressed up and acting like John Rolfe, the guy who married Pocahontas. Both talks were very interesting and well worth the time.
They are continuing to do archeological digs at the site, but have unearthed a great deal of the brick and stone foundations of homes surrounding the fort. The nearby archaearium has many interesting artifacts. You can see their discoveries at: www.historicjamestowne.org/the_dig We were able to go into the old church (1608) and wander around inside the old fort.
We also enjoyed watching a man make a beautiful vase at the restored Glasshouse, one of the first industries for the town.
On thw way out we saw some turtles in the swamp. There is also a nearby reconstruction of the entire town called Jamestown Settlement, but we ran out of time to see that, plus a torrential downpour began shortly after leaving Historic Jamestown.
Between Yorktown and Jamestown is Williamsburg which would be fun to visit. They have many re-enactments there in the historic village. The downside is that it is a tourist trap with lots of “cute” shops and the traffic is terrible, even in late fall. It would be easy to spend a month in the area. The three towns (Virginia’s historic triangle) are connected by the beautiful Colonial Parkway, a 23 miles scenic roadway that claims several million travelers a year enjoying the natural and cultural beauty of Virginia.