We were able to visit both Jamestown and Yorktown Historical Parks in one day while staying in Lenexa, VA, as they are just about 23 miles apart.
In 1607 British ships carrying 104 colonists anchored in the James River on May 13th. They established the colony of Virginia with Jamestown as the capitol. The nations earliest historical records....over 400 years ago. Nothing remains of the original buildings except some foundations that have since been excavated with some of those having been reburied to protect further disintegration.
The museum building was constructed over a site of some exposed foundations and glass windows in the floor allow a glimpse into the past. There is constant current excavating going on around the former settlement though.
The founding of Jamestown has been celebrated every 100 years. The Tercentenary Monument commemorates Jamestown's 300th anniversary.
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| Ahead is the entrance way to the area of the original fort. The only building, the church, was added much later after the original church had burned to the ground. |
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| Pocahontas |
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| Inside the museum looking down as some exposed original foundation |
Recovered wine flasks
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| wine mug and other implements |
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| recovery of thousands of original artifacts from Jamestown help to tell us how they survived |
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| model of the original settlement |
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| recreations of the original vessels colonists arrived in |
Jamestown developed a glass company that exported items to Britain
You can watch the glassmakers create items....very warm in this area!!:)
On to the Yorktown battlefield and museum.
We drove the battleground here following a car tour route. Markers at the stops told us of the very short, and last major battle, of the American Revolution. You can still see some of the mounded earth batteries in various areas.
The museum was very interesting in that it holds some original tent "parts" that George Washington actually used and were subsequently used by his family for many years until finally preserved.
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| A partial full-sized reconstruction of the HMS Charon which burned and sank in the harbor is avail to walk through in the museum |
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| George Washington's chamber tent, his private sleep tent within a larger tent, is on display here |
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| a silk flag carried during a battle of the Revolution was made in 1770 |
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| This sign notes where the historic waterfront area used to begin as it was destroyed by fire in 1814. |
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| statues of Washington and French admiral De Grasse meeting to discuss the siege of Yorktown |
The Yorktown waterfront today
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