Jamestown Rediscovery

Jamestown Rediscovery is an archaeological project of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) investigating the remains of the original Jamestown Settlement established in the Virginia Colony beginning on May 14, 1607. The period under study was from 1607-1698.

Early history: 1607-1698

The first permanent English settlement in the area which is now the United States established in the Virginia Colony at Jamestown beginning on May 14, 1607. Upon arrival, the colonists set about constructing a fort. Within a fortnight, they had completed their initial James Fort.

It is important to understand why Jamestown is often referred to as an "island" but is also called a "peninsula." During periods of the past 400 years, it has been joined by a narrow land bridge (or "isthmus") to the mainland; at other times, the flow and fluctuations of the James River severed and recreated the connection, thus perhaps the confusion in definition. Although it is technically a peninsula when thus connected, functionally, in many ways, Jamestown throughout the past 400 years has been an island.

Largely cut off from the mainland's typical game and wildlife by natural forces, the shallow harbor at Jamestown afforded the earliest settlers docking of their ships. This was its great attraction, one which came at the price of other far less favorable conditions. The land was swampy and mosquito-infested. The tidal river was brackish, a mixture of fresh water from upstream sources and saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean. There was little drinking water, hunting was poor, and there was not a lot of room for farming activity.

During the first five years, most of colonists (and their replacements) died, mostly from disease and conflicts with the Native Americans. A low point occurred during the Starving Time in 1609-1610 when a combination of a drought, lack of trade with the Natives, and delayed supplies from England resulted in the death of over 80% of the colonists.

The future and permanence of Jamestown and the Colony only became assured after sweet strains of tobacco were cultivated and exported successfully as a cash crop in 1612. Between 1612 and 1698, Jamestown was the capital, political center, and chief port of the growing colony, as plantations and developments often known as "hundreds" were established along the waterways such as the James and York Rivers.

In 1698, an accidental fire destroyed the statehouse at Jamestown, and the legislature and seat of government temporarily relocated to Middle Plantation. The following year, the move became a permanent change, with that town soon renamed Williamsburg.

1699-1893: town declines, reversion to farmland

Soon, Jamestown began a period of rapid decline. By the 1750s, the land was owned and heavily cultivated primarily by the Travis and Ambler families. Due to its location on the James River, the island saw some action during the American Revolutionary War (1776-1781) and the American Civil War (1861-1865), but otherwise, became largely desolate and unpopulated.

1893: preservation as a historical site

Late in the 19th century, Jamestown became the focus of new historical interest. In 1893, the APVA property on Jamestown Island consisting of 22 ½ acres of land, including the 1639 church tower was donated for historic preservation by the private owners Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barney. In 1900, a sea wall was built to stabilize erosion. The area thus protected proved to be a valuable investment in the future almost a century later.

For the 300th anniversary of the settlement in 1907, transportation considerations at the isolated location did not even bring Jamestown into serious contention as the venue for its own celebration. Instead, the Jamestown Exposition was held 25 miles away, at Sewell's Point on Hampton Roads in the former Norfolk County.

1957: Jamestown Festival and aftermath

By 1957, a lot of things had changed since 1907. During World War I, the Sewell's Point site of the Jamestown Exposition had become part of the massive Naval Station Norfolk, the largest Navy Base in the world. That site was unavailable.

In the 1930s, the US National Park Service (NPS) had acquired the rest of the land at Jamestown Island, and turned it over to the Colonial National Historical Park. Portions of the NPS's bucolic Colonial Parkway had been completed between Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown.

For the 350th anniversary, plans were made for Jamestown to host its own celebration. In anticipation, the remaining portion of the Colonial Parkway linking Jamestown to the other two points of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia was rushed to completion. For vehicular access, the isthmus linking the island to the mainland was restored by the NPS as part of the Colonial Parkway project. The Commonwealth of Virginia relocated the Glass House Point landing for the Jamestown Ferry and created the Jamestown Festival Park on adjacent land to the isthmus leading to the island (or peninsula) itself. Replicas of the three ships which had brought the original colonists were built, and placed on display. The 1957 Jamestown Festival celebration was a huge success. Among many notable events, it featured a visit by U.S. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Prince Philip. After 1957, tourism and interest in Jamestown became continuous, with both the state and the NPS's Colonial National Historical Park maintaining their complementary year-round attractions.

APVA and the National Park Service

By the late 20th century, the APVA had been working closely with National Park Service (NPS) for many years. APVA land and the church site were included in the NPS-operated attraction on the Island (which is currently called Historic Jamestowne). However, the original site of James Fort had long been thought lost to the erosion of the river.

Rediscovery: archaeological project beginning in 1994

In 1994, the Jamestown Rediscovery project was created by the APVA to archaeologically explore their land. The original goal of the archaeological campaign was to locate archaeological remains of "the first years of settlement at Jamestown, especially of the earliest fortified town; [and the] the subsequent growth and development of the town". [http://www.apva.org/pubs/94reprt.html]

Beginning their work in the area protected by the 1900 sea wall, the archaeologists began to explore. Early on, the project discovered early colonial artifacts. This was something of a surprise to some historians as it had been widely thought that the original site had been entirely lost due to erosion by the James River. Many others suspected that at least portions of the fort site remained.

In 1996, they successfully located the site of the original 1607 James Fort. Subsequent excavations have shown that only one corner of the first triangular fort (which contained the original settlement) turned out to have been destroyed. The sea wall built in 1900 to limit the erosion turned out to be a rich investment in the past and the future.

Since it began, the extended archaeological campaign has made many more discoveries including retrieving hundreds of thousands of artifacts, a large fraction of them from the first few years of the settlement's history. In addition, it has uncovered much of the fort, the remains of several houses and wells, a palisade wall line attached to the fort and the graves of several of the early settlers.

Visitors to the NPS Historic Jamestowne attraction can view the site of James Fort, the 17th century church tower and the site of the 17th century town, as well as tour an archaeological museum called the Archaearium and view many of the hundreds of thousands of artifacts found by Jamestown Rediscovery.

As of 2007, visitors can also often observe archaeologists from the Jamestown Rediscovery project at work, as archaeological work at the site continues and is greatly expanding knowledge of what happened at Jamestown in its earliest days.

Among the discoveries, a grave site with indications of an important figure was located. Some theorizes the remains to be that of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold [http://www.historicjamestowne.org/news/gosnold_dna_01.php] though others have claimed it to be the remains of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. It had long been thought that Baron De La Warr, who died en route back to the colony from England on his second trip, had been buried elsewhere but some recent research concluded that his body was in fact brought to Jamestown for burial. [http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-news1_032206mar22,0,6921190.story?coll=va-news] .

APVA archaeologist William M. Kelso PhD. heads the Jamestown Rediscovery team that in 1996 discovered the foundations of the 1607 James Fort, long thought to have disappeared in the waters of the James River. [http://magazine.clas.virginia.edu/x8591.xml] . Dr. Kelso has co-written a book about the findings with Beverly A. (aka Bly) Straube, who is the Curator for the APVA Jamestown Rediscovery project. [http://www.jamestowne-wash-nova.org/JamestownRediscovery-book.htm] "(see additional reading section)"

Jamestown 2007

2007 marked the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown. Preparations were made for a variety of events being promoted under the banner of America's 400th Anniversary and promoted by the Jamestown 2007 Commission.

America's 400th Anniversary is commemorating the quadricentennial of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement with 18 months of statewide, national and international festivities and events which began in April 2006 with a tour of the new replica "Godspeed".

The Commonwealth of Virginia has greatly expanded the former Jamestown Festival Park, and the state-operated attraction adjacent to Historic Jamestowne (on the island itself) it is now called Jamestown Settlement.

In January, 2007, the Virginia General Assembly held a session at Jamestown, where a speech was given by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney, and Virginia's current Governor Tim Kaine delivered the traditional "State of the Commonwealth" speech.

On May 4th, 2007, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Prince Philip attended a ceremony commemorating the 400th anniversary of the settlement's arrivals, reprising the honor they paid in 1957. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/05/nqueen05.xml Retrieved on 2008-04-19]

Additional reading

* Kelso, William M. "Jamestown Rediscovery 1994-2004", (2004), Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, ISBN 0-9175651-3-4

References

External links

* [http://www.apva.org/ Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities website]