JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA - The Town Site and Its Story
by Charles E. Hatch, Jr.
Source: National Park Service
Historical Handbook Series
Number Two
Washington, D.C., 1952
"This publication is one of a series of handbooks describing the historical and
archeological areas in the National Park System. It is printed by the Government
Printing Office and may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C.
Price 25 cents."
United States Department of the Interior
Oscal L. Chapman, Secretary
National Park Service
Conrad L. Wirth, Director
Jamestown was the site of the first permanent English settlement in
America (1607), the point at which the first representative legislative
assembly convened (1619} to set a pattern for self-government in the New
World, the locale of stirring events in Bacon's Rebellion (1676-77), and the
capital of the Colony of Virginia for 92 years (1607-99}.
The first permanent settlement in America by the English at James-
town was a visible manifestation of the determination of that Nation to
establish itself in the New World. The overthrow of Spanish sea power
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth paved the way for English coloniza-
tion ventures. Enterprising Britons had already established their influence
in India, the Near East, and Russia. Sir Walter Raleigh had made several
unsuccessful attempts to establish an enduring settlement along the
Carolina coast at Roanoke Island, events now commemorated by Fort
Raleigh National Historic Site, and Sir Humphrey Gilbert had tried to
no avail to make a settlement to the north in Newfoundland.
It remained for the Virginia Company of London, under its charter of
April 10, 1606, to found the first permanent English settlement in
America. This joint stock company, a commercial organization, from
its inception assumed a nationaL character. It was instrumental, under
its charter provisions, in guaranteeing to the settlers in the New World
the rights, freedoms, and privileges enjoyed by Englishmen at home and
the enjoyment of their customary manner of living which they adapted
to their new environment with the passage of years.
Jamestown was the site of the first settlement that grew into the
Colony of Virginia and gave heart to those men who settled the colonies
that came later. The first Virginians landed in May 1607, built houses
and a fort, planted crops, and began the struggle for the conquest of a
vast primitive land. They brought with them their church and respect
for God, maintained trial by jury and their rights as freemen, and soon
were developing representative government. All of these things are a
part of the story of Jamestown.
In the words of James Bryce, British Ambassador to the United States
at the time of the Jamestown Tercentenary, the settlement of "James-
town was one of the great events in the history of the world—an event
to be compared for its momentous consequences with the overthrow of
the Persian Empire by Alexander; with the destruction of Carthage by
Rome; with the conquest of Gaul by Clovis; with the taking of Con-
stantinople by the Turks—one might almost say with the discovery of
America by Columbus." Here was born the great English-speaking
nation beyond the seas, of which Gilbert and Raleigh had dreamed; and
here was the cradle of our Republican institutions and liberties.
The Story of Jamestown
On May 13, 1607, three small English ships approached Jamestown
Island in Virginia—the Susan Constant of 100 tons commanded by Capt.
Christopher Newport and carrying 71 persons; the Godspeed of 40 tons
commanded by Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold and carrying 52 persons;
and the Discovery, a pinnace, of 20 tons under Capt. John Ratcliffe, carry-
ing 21 persons. During the day (as George Percy, one of the party on
board, relates) they maneuvered the ships so close to the shore that they
were "moored to the Trees in six fathom [of] water." The next day, May
l4, he continues, "we Landed all our men, which were set to worke about
the fortification, others some to watch and ward as it was convenient."
Thus, the first permanent English settlement in America was begun on
the shores of the James River, in Virginia, about 20 years after the ill-
fated attempts to establish a colony on Roanoke Island and 13 years
before the Pilgrims made their historic landing at Plymouth, in New
England.
THE ENGLISH BACKGROUND. The settlement at Jamestown, in 1607, was
another step, albeit a most significant step, in England's quest for a place
in the vast New World first indicated by Columbus in his discovery of
1492 and made known to Europe through his and other expeditions.
King Henry VII of England early sought to establish a claim in North
America and sponsored the now famous voyage of John and Sebastian
Cabot in 1497. The Cabots touched points along the Atlantic coast, and
their discoveries were ever afterward pointed to with pride by English-
men discussing their rights in the New World. As William Strachey
wrote, in 1612, ". . . our voyages hither for a while might seeme to lye
slumbering, yet our tytle could not thereby out sleepe ytself . . .".
Despite this, England was occupied at home and in Europe and did not
press this advantage. Spain took the lead in colonial settlement and held
it for decades. How many Englishmen set foot on the North American
continent in the first three-quarters of the sixteenth century may never be
known. They were no strangers in the fishing waters off Newfoundland,
and in this region there appear to have been landings and temporary
settlements. Even so, serious attempts at colonization did not begin until
the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and then it was pushed vigorously by men
of the mark of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Walter Raleigh, and their
associates.
Sir Humphrey lost his life in 1583 when returning from his attempted
settlement of St. John's Port, Newfoundland. Sir Walter Raleigh dili-
gently sought to establish the English flag to the south. He sent out two
colonial expeditions to found a settlement on Roanoke Island in present
eastern North Carolina. Both failed in their over-all purpose. It was the
expedition of 1587 (the last) which set sail for the Chesapeake Bay
country and landed on Roanoke Island that has come down to us as the
"Lost Colony"—the settlement that saw the birth of Virginia Dare and
that left the baffling inscription suggesting that the members of the
Colony moved, willingly or unwillingly, to be with the Croatan Indians
who lived not far from Roanoke. The early men at Jamestown knew of
their countrymen who were lost in America and were under orders to
seek them. This they did, but their search went unrewarded.
By 1600, England was readying herself for a concerted drive to estab-
lish colonies in the New World. The way had been prepared by the far-
sighted Queen Elizabeth and her supporters. Within England there had
been growth; capital had accumulated; industry was taking root; com-
mercial organization was beginning; and an individualistic, adventure-
seeking type of Englishman had taken form. Outwardly, England had
grown through its naval successes and had developed a keen hostility
to Spain. Individual Englishmen, each depending on his own circum-
stances, were seeking more profitable employment, personal freedom
(particularly religious liberty), land ownership, personal advancement,
adventure, and just plain change. A new England was in the making and
the British Empire was about to rise in the West and in the Orient as
well. With the accession of James I to the English throne, peace was
made with Spain, a peace that was maintained although it was an uneasy
one—from time to time little more than an armed truce. Yet, because
of it, English capital came out of hiding and sought profitable invest-
ment. Business development increased and joint stock companies began
to organize for overseas settlement.
Colonization was expensive, however, and required the pooled re-
sources of many men. Advertising, which reached a peak early in the
seventeenth century, was put to work in a manner that would do credit
to the present day. Its use in commerce and government is by no means
of recent date. Spokesmen—speakers, writers, poets, pamphleteers, play-
wrights, and preachers—solicited all England to take part in these new
endeavors which, in their words, gave every assurance of profitable return.
The exploits of Raleigh and Gilbert, of Martin Frobisher, Michael
Lok, John Davis, and Thomas Cavendish, of Sir Francis Drake, and Sir
John Hawkins, and their kind had already made England conscious of
the potentialities of the New World and of the need to seek a part of it.
Others followed these earlier leaders. In 1602 Raleigh sent yet another
ship (this under Samuel Mace) to seek the lost settlers of Roanoke, and
In the same year a vessel went out under Bartholomew Gosnold who
attempted a settlement on Elizabeth's Island in present Massachusetts.
Gosnold and another in this party, Gabriel Archer, were to become
prominent later in the Jamestown settlement. In 1603, Martin Pring
made a voyage along the northern part of Virginia. In 1605, came the
expedition under George Weymouth to the Kennebec River on the
New England coast. He spent some weeks here and returned to England
carrying with him several Indian natives from that region.
On April 10, 1606, the first Virginia charter passed under the great
seal of England. This document recognized two groups and two spheres
of influence that would fall between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth
parallels of north latitude along the American coast. One was interested
in North Virginia and was granted to Thomas Hanham, Raleigh Gilbert,
William Parker, George Popham, and others of and for Plymouth and
other English places. This group was first in the field with exploration,
dispatching a ship in August 1606 under Henry Challons. In May 1607,
they sent a colony to the mouth of the Kennebec in Maine, but, in the
spring of 1608, after a severe winter, the settlement was given up.
The second group, organized under the charter of 1606, was that
interested in south Virginia. This patent went to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir
George Somers, Richard Hakluyt, Edward Maria Wingfield, and others
of and for the city of London. The treasurer of the group was Sir Thomas
Smith, one of the most capable businessmen of the day. Richard
Hakluyt, the foremost authority on travel, foreign regions, and coloniza-
tion in general, assembled helpful data and had a large part in the prep-
aration of instructions and orders for those to be sent out as colonists.
It was this group and their associates that organized, financed, and di-
rected the expedition that reached Jamestown on May 13, 1607, and saw
to it that supplies came through and reinforcements were procured in
the lean years of the settlement.
The immediate and long-range reasons for the settlement were many
and, perhaps, thoroughly mixed. Profit and exploitation of the country
were expected, for, after all, this was a business enterprise and they were
necessary for long-range activity. A permanent settlement was the ob-
jective. Support, financial and popular, came from a cross section of
English life. It seems obvious from accounts and papers of the period
that it was generally thought that Virginia was being settled for the
glory of God, for the honor of the King, for the welfare of England, and
for the advancement of the Company and its individual members. In
England and in Virginia they expected and did carry the word of God
to the natives, although not with the same verve as the Spanish. They
expected to develop natural resources, to free the mother country from
dependence on European states, to strengthen their navy, and to increase
national wealth and power. They expected to be a thorn in the side of
the Spanish Empire; in fact, they hoped one day to challenge and over-
shadow that empire. They sought to find the answer to what seemed to
be unemployment at home. They sought many things, not the least of
them being gold, silver, and land. As the men stepped ashore on James-
town Island, perhaps each had a slightly different view of why he was
there, yet some one or a combination of these motives was probably the
reason.
THE FIRST DAYS IN VIRGINIA. The expedition of 1607 included a cargo
of supplies and 144 persons, of whom 104 or 105 (depending on which
of the more detailed contemporary accounts is accepted) were to remain
in Virginia as the first settlers. The expedition left England late in 1606.
It moved down the Thames River from London on December 20 and,
after a slow start, the ships proceeded over the long route through the
West Indies. There were stops in the islands, new experiences, and dis-
agreements among the leaders. Captain Newport was in command, and
the identity of the councilors who were to govern in Virginia lay hidden
in a locked box not to be opened until their destination had been
reached. Dissension at one point led to charges against Capt. John
Smith who reached the New World in confinement. This was suggestive
of the later personal and group feuds and disagreements that plagued
the first years of the Virginia Colony.
The "Land of Virginia" was first seen by the Lookout on April 26, and
just a little later in the same day a party was sent ashore at Cape Henry
to make what was the first landing in the wilderness which they came
A characteristic view of the landscape on Jamestown Island. The high
ground is principally along low ridges, sometimes called "fingers,"
divided by marshes or very low ground.
to conquer. Having been aboard ship for many weeks, the settlers found
the expanse of land, the green virgin trees, the cool, fresh water, and the
unspoiled landscape a pleasant view to behold. At Cape Henry they saw
Indians and several of the party were wounded by their arrows, notably
Capt. Gabriel Archer, one of the experienced leaders. They built a
"shallop" (a small boat), went exploring into the country for short
distances by land and water, enjoyed the spring flowers, and tasted
roasted oysters and "fine beautiful strawberries." On April 29, a cross
was set up among the sand dunes. The next day the ships were moved
from Cape Henry into Chesapeake Bay to the site on Hampton Roads
which they named Point Comfort (now Old Point Comfort).
For about 2 weeks, explorations were made along both banks of the
James, below and above Jamestown, from its mouth to a point as far
upstream perhaps as the Appomattox River (Hopewell, Va.). Parties
went ashore to investigate promising areas, and communication was
established with the native tribes. On May 12, a point of land at the
mouth of Archer's Hope (now College) Creek, a little below James-
town, was examined in detail. Capt. Gabriel Archer was particularly
impressed with this location and urged that it be the point of settlement.
The soil seemed good, timber and wildlife were abundant, and it ap-
peared adaptable for defensive measures if these should become neces-
sary. It was not possible, however, to bring the ships close to the shore,
and consequently Archer's Hope was rejected. From this site the ships
moved directly to Jamestown, where they arrived May 13. On May 14,
they landed and broke ground for the fort and the town that ultimately
won the distinction of the first permanent English settlement in
America and the capital of the Virginia Colony for almost a century.
In May 1607, the days were warm; the nights, cool. Life was stirring
in the wilderness and nature had been generous, the colonists thought.
There were fruits, abundant timber, deer and other animals for food, and
a not too numerous native population. The hot, humid weather of mid-
summer and the snow, ice, and emptiness of winter were not in evidence.
The choice of a site for settlement was both good and bad. The anchor-
age for ships at Jamestown was good. The Island had not then become
a true island and had an easily controlled dry land isthmus connection
with the mainland. As the river narrows here, it was one of the best con-
trol points on the James. It was not used by the Indians; and it was a
bit inland, hence somewhat out of range of the Spanish menace. Arable
land on the Island was limited by inlets and "guts." The swamps were
close and bred mosquitoes in abundance and, with contamination so
easy, drinking water was a problem. All of these facts became evident to
these first English Americans as the months went by.
When the orders were opened after arrival in Virginia, it was found
that the governing body in the Colony was made up of seven councilors.
Edward Maria Wingfield, of gallant service in the Low Countries;
Bartholomew Gosnold and Christopher Newport, both seasoned seamen
and captains; John Ratcliffe, who piloted the Discovery to Virginia;
John Martin, an earlier commander under Drake; John Smith, already
an experienced adventurer; and George Kendall, a cousin of Sir Edwin
Sandys who later was to play a dominant role in the Virginia Company.
To this list can be added other prominent names—George Percy, brother
to the Earl of Northumberland and a trained sailor; Gabriel Archer, a
lawyer who had already explored in the New England country; and Rev.
Robert Hunt, the vicar at Jamestown, whose pious and exemplary living
was noted by his associates.
THE FORT. The work of establishing Jamestown and of exploring the
country round about began almost simultaneously. The several weeks
between May 13 and June 22, when Newport left Virginia for a return
to England, were busy ones. At Jamestown an area was cleared of trees
and the fort begun. The soil was readied and the English wheat brought
over for the purpose was planted. At this point Newport, in one of the.
small boats, led an exploring party as far as the falls of the James (near
present Richmond). He was successful in learning a great deal about the
country, but did not succeed in his search for gold or silver. He was
absent from Jamestown about a week and returned to find that the
Indians had launched a fierce attack on the new settlement which had
been saved, perhaps, by the fact that the ships were near at hand. These
afforded safe quarters and carried cannon on their decks that had a
frightening effect on the natives.
The fort was completed about mid-June. It was triangular in shape,
with a "Bulwarke" at each corner which was shaped like a "halfe
Moone." Within the "Bulwarkes" were mounted four or five pieces of
artillery—demiculverins which fired balls of about 9 pounds in weight.
The fort enclosed about 1 acre with its river side extending 420 feet and
its other sides measuring 300 feet. The principal gate faced the river and
was in the south side (curtain) of the fort, although there were other
openings, one at each "Bulwarke," and each was protected by a piece of
ordnance. The church, storehouses, and living quarters were flimsily
built of perishable materials, within the walls of the palisaded fort, along
fixed streets arranged around an open yard. For the first few years this
fort was Jamestown.
Before the fort was completed the wheat had come up and was grow-
ing nicely, as George Percy wrote in what was probably the first essay
on farming along the James River. About June 10, John Smith, partly
through the intercession of Robert Hunt, was released and admitted to
his seat on the Council. Relations with the Indians improved. On June
21, the third Sunday after Trinity, the first Anglican communion at
Jamestown was celebrated. "We had a comunyon. Capt. Newport dyned
ashore with our dyet, and invyted many of us to supper as a farewell."
The next day, Christopher Newport raised anchor and began the return
trip to England. He took letters from those to remain in Virginia and
carried accounts describing Virginia and the events that had occurred.
The settlement had been made, and the future seemed promising.
SUMMER AND FALL, 1607. Within the short span of 2 months, conditions
changed drastically. The Indians became cautious and distrustful, and
provisions, not sufficiently augmented from the country, began to run
low. Spoilage destroyed some food, and, with the coming of the hot,
humid weather, the brackish drinking water proved dangerous. In
August, death struck often and quickly, taking among others the
stabilizing hand of Captain Gosnold. Inexperience, unwillingness, or in-
ability to do the hard work that was necessary and the lack of sufficient
information about how to survive in a primeval wilderness led to bicker-
ing, disagreements, and, to what was more serious still, inaction. They
forgot a most important bit of advice that had been given them by "His
Majesties Council for Virginia": ". . . the way to prosper and achieve
good success is to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your
country and your own . . .".
On arrival in Virginia the resident councilors, as outlined in their
orders, met and named one of their number as president. Real power
was with the Council, however, and the president was without actual
independent authority. This was a serious defect (corrected in the sec-
ond company charter in 1609) which prevented a well-directed and
coordinated program at Jamestown during the first 3 years. As the
first summer wore on it was natural that hostility should develop
toward the titular head of the Colony. Had the first president, Edward
Maria Wingfield, been a stronger, more adventurous, and more dar-
ing man, conditions might have been a little better, despite his lack
of real authority. He was not the leader, however, to act and to reason
later. Consequently, opinion was arrayed against him and charges, some
unjust no doubt, were formed that led to his deposition and replace-
ment in one of the two celebrated jury trials which occurred at James-
town about mid-September. His successor, perhaps no more able, was
John Ratcliffe who continued for about a year until deposed and replaced
by Matthew Scrivener, one of those who came over with the first supply.
It was a little later, in 1608, that Capt. John Smith took the helm as
chief councilor, which was what the president really was. It was under
the presidency of Ratcliffe, however, that Smith emerged as an able, ex-
perienced leader, who preferred action to inaction even though it might
be questioned later. His work and his decisions, sometimes wise, some-
times not so wise, did much to insure the survival of the Colony.
When the first cool days of approaching autumn touched Jamestown,
in 1607, spirits rose and hopefulness supplanted despair. Disease, which
had reduced the number to less than 50 persons, subsided; the oppres-
sive heat lessened; and Indian crops of peas, corn, and beans began to
mature. Friendly relations were established with the natives, and barter
trade developed. As the leaves fell, game became easier to get, ducks
multiplied in the ponds and marshes, and life in general seemed brighter.
Work was resumed at Jamestown in preparation for the coming winter,
and exploration was undertaken. It was in December, while investigat-
ing the Chickahominy River area, that Smith was taken by the Indians.
He was eventually carried before Powhatan who released him, some say
through the intercession of the young Pocahontas. This incident Smith
did not mention in his detailed account of the events of the Colony writ-
ten several months later. It was not until a number of years later, in fact,
that this romantic story evolved in its present form.
THE FIRST SUPPLY. Upon returning to Jamestown, Smith was caught in
the meshes of a feuding Council. All was forgotten early in January,
however, when Newport reached Jamestown with the first supply for
the settlers. He brought food, equipment, instructions, and news from
home. His cargo was not sufficient, but for the moment this was over-
looked. The two ships of the supply had left England together, but the
second did not reach Virginia until April.
Shortly after Newport's arrival in January, disaster came to Jamestown.
Fire swept through the fort, consuming habitations, provisions, ammuni-
tion, and even some of the palisades. This was a serious blow in the face
of winter weather. With the help of Newport and his sailors, the church,
storehouse, palisades, and cabins were partially rebuilt before he sailed
again for England early in April. Much more could have been done had
he not consumed so many days in a pompous visit and lengthy negotia-
tions with the wily Powhatan. Then, too, the ships had to be loaded for
the return voyage, for the London backers were loudly calling for
profitable produce. The first of the spring months were spent in cutting
cedar logs and preparing "clapboards" for sale in England, and a little
later there seems to have been a mild "gold rush" at Jamestown as some
hopeful looking golden colored soil was found. This all delayed early
spring clearing and planting, and boded ill for the coming summer when
Ratcliffe wasted precious days building a house suitable to his position
and Smith engaged in important, yet not particularly pressing,
explorations.
THE FIRST MARRIAGE AT JAMESTOWN. It was in September 1608 that
Smith became president in fact and inaugurated a program of physical
improvement at Jamestown. The area about the fort was enlarged and
the standing structures repaired. At this point, in October, the second
supply arrived, including 70 settlers, who, when added to the survivors
in Virginia, raised the over-all population to about 120. Among the new
arrivals were two women—Mistress Forrest and her maid. Several
months later, in the church at Jamestown, the maid, Ann Burras, was
married to one of the settlers, John Lay don, a carpenter by trade. This
marriage has been ranked as "the first recorded English marriage on the
soil of the United States." Their child, Virginia, born the next year, was
the first to be born at Jamestown.
EARLY INDUSTRY. With the second supply came workmen sent over to
produce glass, pitch, soap ashes, and other items profitable in England.
These men, including some Poles and Dutchmen, were quickly assigned
to specific duties. So rapidly did they begin that "trials" of at least one
product, glass, were sent home when Newport left Jamestown before
the end of the year. As usual, in addition to settlers and supplies,
Newport brought more instructions from the Company officials. The
Colony was not succeeding financially, and it was urged that the Council
spend more time in the preparation of marketable products. It was urged,
too, that gold be sought more actively; that Powhatan be crowned as a
recognition befitting his position; and that more effort be expended in
search of the Roanoke settlers. These things were all desirable, but, at
the moment, impracticable. No one understood this better than did
Smith, who spoke his mind freely in a letter he wrote for dispatch to the
authorities at home. Nevertheless, these projects were emphasized, and
the more pressing needs of adequate shelter and sufficient food were
neglected.
In the interval from about February to May 1609, Smith reported con-
siderable material progress in and about Jamestown. Perhaps 40 acres
were cleared and prepared for planting in Indian corn, the new grain
that fast became a staple commodity. A deep well was dug in the
fort. The church was re-covered and 20 cabins built. A second trial was
made at glass manufacture in the furnaces built late in 1608. A block-
house was built at the isthmus which connected the Island ' to the main-
land for better control of the Indians, and a new fort was erected on a
little creek across the river from Jamestown. Smith was now in com-
mand, as his fellow councilors either had returned to England or were
dead. About this time there came a new disaster. With all attention cen-
tered on the numerous construction projects, insufficient protection was
given the meager supply of grain. When discovered, rats had consumed
almost all of the corn stores. Faced with this situation, Smith found it
necessary to scatter the settlers, sending some to live with the Indians
and some to eat at the oyster banks where the unbalanced oyster diet
is reported to have caused their skin "to peel off from head to foot as if
they had been fleade." Only "a small guarde of gentlemen & some others
[were left] about the president at James Towne."
In midsummer of 1609, conditions at Jamestown were not good,
although it is doubtful that they were any worse than during the two
previous summers. The settlers were becoming acclimated, and they
------
'Although Jamestown Island was not a true island until the isthmus was washed out
about the period of the Revolution, it was called an island even in the early years of the
Colony.
-----
were learning the ways of the new country. Supplies were low, yet the
number of colonists was small, and a good harvest and a good fall might
have improved matters had not some 400 new, inexperienced settlers
sailed into the James without their leaders, without instructions, and
with damaged supplies. To add to other complications, they brought
fever and plague. In the selection of prospective settlers for the voyage
the standards had been low, and too many ne'er-do-wells, and even
renegades, had been included. This was the third supply, and it reached
Jamestown in August 1609.
THE SECOND COMPANY CHARTER AND THE THIRD SUPPLY. The Com-
pany had received a new charter in May 1609 which corrected some of
the defects of the old and made provision for a strong governor to rule
in the Colony. Despite discouraging news from Virginia, the supporters
of the enterprise did not abandon their plans to maintain the Colony.
The second charter, as this was called, was subscribed and incorporated
by 56 companies of London and 659 persons, of whom 21 were peers, 96
knights, 11 doctors, ministers, etc., 53 captains, 28 esquires, 58 gentle-
men, 110 merchants, 282 citizens, and others not classified. Altogether
they represented a cross section of English life in that period.
It was resolved to send a much larger expedition to Virginia than the
three sent prior to this date. It went out in June under Sir Thomas Gates
and with him were Sir George Somers and Captain Newport. There
were nine ships and about 500 settlers. The voyage was uneventful until
they ran into a stiff hurricane that broke up the fleet and cast ashore
in the Bermuda Islands the flagship with its three commanders. The rest
of the fleet, except one small ship lost at sea, limped into the James and
went on to Jamestown.
Returning to Virginia in the third supply were several men who had
been earlier leaders in the Colony and who were now all hostile to
Smith—Archer, Ratcliffe, and Martin. A confusing scene developed over
command. The old leaders, particularly Smith, refused to give way to
the new in the absence of Gates, the appointed governor, and his in-
structions. There was considerable bickering which led to an uneasy
settlement, leaving Smith in charge for the duration of his yearly term,
now almost expired.
It was obvious to everyone that there were too many men for all to
remain at Jamestown. John Martin was sent to attempt a settlement at
Nansemond, on the south side of the James below Jamestown, while
Capt. Francis West, brother of Lord Delaware, was sent to settle at the
falls of the James. Returning to Jamestown after an inspection tour at
the falls, Captain Smith was injured by burning gunpowder and incapaci-
tated. The implication in the documents of the period is that Ratcliffe,
Archer, and Martin used this opportunity to depose him and to compel
him to return to England to face their charges against him. These three
men, failing to agree on a replacement from their own number, per-
suaded George Percy to accept the position of president. Percy was in
command during the terrible winter that followed.
THE "STARVING TIME." The winter of 1609-10 has been described
through the years as the "starving time"—seemingly, an accurate de-
scription. It saw the population shrink from 500 to about 60 as a result
of disease, sickness, Indian arrows, and malnutrition. It destroyed morale
and reduced the men to scavengers stalking the fort, fields, and woods
for anything that might be used as food. When spring came there was
little spirit left in the settlement. It would seem unjust to attribute the
disaster to Percy, who did what he could to ameliorate conditions by
attempting trade and keeping the men busy. The "starving time"
appears to have been caused by an accumulation of circumstances.
There was the matter of the third supply which arrived in such poor
condition very late in the season. Bickering prevented measures that
could have been taken to prepare for the winter. Dissension continued
even after Smith's departure. Then, too, the Indians knew of conditions
at Jamestown, for they actually kept scouts in the fort much of the time.
They were learning the ways of the white man and had come to see that
he was most vulnerable in the winter season. Heretofore they had sup-
plied him corn—by gift, by trade, or unwillingly through seizure. In the
winter of 1609-10, they had a good opportunity to make him suffer, and
throughout this period the Indians were openly hostile. Perhaps the
increasingly heavy use of force and armed persuasion in dealing with
them had resulted in this attitude which, from their point of view, proved
highly effective. In the fall of 1608, they had forced the settlers in from
Nansemond and the falls. Then, in the winter of 1609-10, Powhatan
captured and killed Ratcliffe who had gone to trade with him. All
through that winter it was dangerous to be alone far from the fort.
Not having sufficient stores set aside, not able to deal with the natives,
and without the use of the resources of the countryside, there is small
wonder that conditions became serious, even desperate, for the settlers.
Those few men fortified on Hampton Roads under Capt. James Davis
(after Captain West, perhaps under threat from the crew, left Virginia
for England in the Colony's best ship) fared far better than did those at
Jamestown. Even the coming of spring failed to restore full hope and
vitality to the survivors, yet certainly it must have been good to-know
that winter was over.
VIRGINIA ALMOST ABANDONED. In May l6l0, the hearts of the weary
settlers were gladdened when Sir Thomas Gates, their new governor,
sailed into the James. For about a year he and the survivors of the wreck
of the Sea Venture had labored in Bermuda to make possible the con-
tinuation of their voyage to Virginia. The last part of the journey was
made in two boats built by them in Bermuda—the Patience and the
Deliverance, names suggestive of their thankfulness for survival. It was
not a pleasant sight that greeted them at Jamestown. Ruin and desola-
tion were everywhere. Gates, with his Council, on July 7, 1610, wrote
that Jamestown seemed:
"raither as the ruins of some auntient [[for]tification, then that any
people living might now inhabit it: the pallisadoes he found tourne
downe, the portes open, the gates from the hinges, the church ruined
and unfrequented, empty howses (whose owners untimely death
had taken newly from them) rent up and burnt, the living not hable,
as they pretended, to step into the woodes to gather other fire-wood;
and, it is true, the Indian as fast killing without as the famine and
pestilence within."
Gates promptly distributed provisions, such as he had, and introduced
a code of martial law, the code that was strengthened later by Delaware
and made famous by its strict enforcement under the governorship of
Sir Thomas Dale. After surveying the condition of the settlement and
realizing that the supplies he had brought would not last 3 weeks, Gates
took council with the leaders. They decided to abandon the settlement.
On June 7, 1610, the settlers, except some of the Poles and Dutchmen
who were with Powhatan, boarded the ship, left Jamestown, and started
down the James.
The next morning, while still in the river, advance word reached Gates
that Lord Delaware had arrived at Point Comfort on the way to James-
town and was bringing 150 settlers and a generous supply. The bad news
carried to England by the returning ships of the third supply, late in
1609, had caused considerable stir in Virginia Company circles and had
resulted in Delaware's decision to go to Virginia. Learning of the new
supply, Gates hastened back to Jamestown. The new settlement had
been saved in a manner that was recognized at that time as an act of
"Providence."
LORD DELAWARE REACHES JAMESTOWN. On June 10, Delaware reached
"James Citty" and made his landing. He entered the fort through the
south gate, and, with his colors flying, went on to the church where Rev.
Richard Buck delivered an impressive sermon. Then his ensign, Anthony
Scott, read his commission, and Gates formally delivered to him his own
authority as governor. Delaware's speech to the assembled colonists
cheered them, advised them, warned them, and reproached them. Thanks
to the pen of William Strachey, we have a good account of these events,
including the best description of the fort, church, and cabins that is now
known to have been preserved. With the arrival of Delaware, the settle-
ment was given new life and new hope. Lean times lay ahead, yet the
most difficult years lay behind. Virginia now had a government that
made for stability under the governor, and the old settlers, who, a little
later, came to be called "Ancient Planters," had learned well by
experience.
Gates, after dealing with the Indians, left for England. Delaware, who
continued to live aboard ship for a time, called a Council, reorganized
the colonists, and directed operations to promote the welfare of the
Colony, including the construction of two forts near Point Comfort. He
fell sick, however, and, after a long illness, was forced to leave James-
town and Virginia in March 1611, leaving the now veteran administrator,
George Percy, as governor in charge. With Delaware went Dr. Lawrence
Bohun, who had experimented extensively with the curative powers of
plants and herbs at Jamestown.
SIR THOMAS DALE AND MILITARY LAW. In May, Sir Thomas Dale, on
military leave from his post in the Low Countries, arrived as deputy gov-
ernor of Virginia. He proceeded to give form and substance to the martial
law which had been evoked by his predecessors. It led to rather complete
regimentation, and he was severely criticized for it later, particularly by
those hostile to his administration. He began by posting proclamations
"for the publique view" at Jamestown. Later, he thoroughly inspected
suitable settlement sites and surveyed conditions generally. He wrote,
on May 25, 1611, that on arrival at Jamestown he found ". . . no corn
sett, some few seeds put into a private garden or Two; but the cattle,
cows, goats, swine, Poultry &c to be well and carefully on all hands pre-
served and all in good plight and likeing." To get things in order at the
seat of government, one party was designated to repair the church, an-
other to work on the stable, another to build a wharf. When things
were reasonably well in hand at Jamestown, he made plans to push the
decision to open a new settlement above Jamestown which would be-
come the real center of the Colony. The reasons for such a removal of
the seat of government are well known—not sufficient high land, poor
drinking water, too much marsh, and a location not far enough upstream
to be out of reach of the Spanish.
JAMESTOWN, 1611-16. Under Dale, from May 1611 to l6l6, and under
Gates who replaced him for several years, beginning in August l6ll,
the emphasis was away from Jamestown, but the capital was not actually
moved.
In 1612, "Master George Percie . . . [was busy] with the keeping of
Jamestown" while much of the Colony had been "moved up river."
The first settlement was then looked upon as chiefly a place of safety
for hogs and cattle. In l6l4, it was made up of "two faire rowes of
howses, all of framed Timber, two stories, and an vpper Garret or Corne
loft high, besides three large, and substantiall Storehowses ioyned to-
geather in length some hundred and twenty foot, and in breadth forty . . .
this town hath been lately newly, and strongly impaled, and a faire plat-
forme for Ordnance in the west Bulworke raised." Without the town
". . . in the Island [were] some very pleasant, and beutifull howses,
two Blockhouses . . . and certain other farme howses." In 1616, it was
a post of 50 under the command of Lt. John Sharpe, who was acting in
the absence of Capt. Francis West. Thirty-one of these were "farmors"
and all maintained themselves with "food and rayment."
The Gates-Dale 5-year administration (1611-16) actually saw Virginia
established as a going concern. The role of Dale in all of this seems to
have been a heavy one. Martial law brought order and uniformity in
operations and compelled the people to go to work. Dale saw to it that
corn was planted and harvested and that the laws were observed. He
made peace with the Indians.
So effective were Dale's measures that one of his contemporaries,
John Roife, wrote "whereupon a peace was concluded, which still con-
tinues so firme, that our people yearlely plant and reape quietly, and
travell in the woods a fowling and a hunting as freely and securely from
danger or treacherie as in England. The great blessings of God have fol-
lowed this peace, and it, next under him, hath bredd our plentie . . .".
All this was accomplished when the fortunes of the Virginia Company
were at a low point and little support was being sent to the Colony. John
Roife then went on to predict that Dale's "worth and name . . . will
out last the standing of this plantation . . .".
Martial law, strictly administered at first, was gradually relaxed in ap-
plication as conditions stabilized, and within a few years Dale took the
step of granting 3-acre plots to private men for their enjoyment outside
of the common store. This was a big step in the evolution of the private
ownership of land. In the beginning, ownership was communal and
Company controlled. In 1609, a future division of both land and profits
was. anticipated, but it was about 1619 before individual grants were
made. A part of this evolution was the headright system of acquisition,
whereby persons were rewarded for venturing to Virginia themselves, or
their capital. Dale's grants of a semiprivate nature, about 1615, were a
step in this evolution as well. The headright system which developed at
Jamestown and on the banks of the James was later adapted in other
colonies and continued in use for generations.
Gates and Dale in their administration had the help of other enter-
prising and daring early Virginians. There was Capt. Samuel Argall
whose later work as governor of the Colony has sometimes been criti-
cized, especially his handling of the Company finances. This should not
becloud his earlier helpfulness in getting Virginia established. He
pioneered in making a direct crossing of the Atlantic to save time and to
avoid the Spanish, who now were fearful that the Virginia enterprise
might succeed and were sending spies to Virginia. (Some of these spies
were captured and interned at Jamestown.) Argall led in exploration,
both in Virginia waters and northward along the coastline. He was adept
at shipbuilding and in the Indian trade. It was evidently he who dis-
covered the best fishing seasons and the fact that the fish made "runs" in
the bay and in the rivers. He made an open attack on the French settle-
POCAHONTAS. While on a trading expedition on the Potomac, Arg
captured Pocahontas and brought her prisoner to Jamestown in an
tempt to deal with her father, Powhatan. Pocahontas was no stran;
at Jamestown. She had often visited there before, once in the spring
1608 to seek some of her countrymen held as hostages in the fort.
In 1613, Pocahontas was well received at Jamestown, where she 1
not been for some time; and when her father refused to pay the pi
asked for her ransom, she was detained. Later, she preferred life w
the English and did not wish to return to her native village. She
placed under the tutelage of Rev. William Whitaker who instructed
in the Christian faith. Eventually she was baptized, and, in April 1(
in the church at Jamestown, she married John Rolfe, one of the setti
This was a celebrated marriage that did much to improve relations v
the Indians. About 1616, the couple went to England where Pocahon
was entertained at court. She died there as she was about to return
Virginia, in 1617, and her body rests at Gravesend. She had one s
Thomas Roife, who later went to Virginia. Through him many to
can trace their ancestry back to Pocahontas.
TOBACCO. After the death of Pocahontas, John Rolfe came back to Vir-
ginia alone to resume the work which he had begun there as early as
1610. Perhaps he continued his work with tobacco which had already
resulted in a plant that could compete in taste and quality with that
which had given the Spanish a monopoly of the tobacco market.
In the first years of the settlement every effort had been made to find
products in the New World that would assure financial success for the
settlers and the Company. Pitch, tar, timber, sassafras, cedar, and other
natural products were sent in the returning ships. Attempts to produce
glass on a paying scale proved futile, as did early efforts to make silk,
using the native mulberry trees growing in abundance. The glass fur-
naces fell into disuse, and rats ate the silkworms. The native tobacco
plant, found growing wild was ". . . not of the best kind . . . [but was]
poore and weake, and of a byting tast . . ." and held little promise.
About 1610-11, the seed of a different species of the plant was im-
ported from Trinidad, then famous for the quality of its tobacco. Later
some came from Venezuela. These were planted and a process of selec-
tion and cross-breeding began which resulted in the commercially valu-
able Virginia leaf. John Rolfe, an ardent smoker himself, has been cred-
ited as the pioneer English colonist in this experimentation with the
tobacco plant.
In addition to the improvement of the plant, Rolfe was one of the
first regularly to grow tobacco for export and as such was the father of
the Virginia tobacco trade and industry. The first experimental ship-
ment of the newly developed Virginia leaf came about 1613, and because
of its pleasant taste it was well received in some quarters. Production
was slow for several years. Dale restricted its cultivation until basic com-
modities, such as corn, were well advanced. In the 1615-16 period only
2,300 pounds reached London from Virginia. Capt. George Yeardley,
the next to govern, gave the new crop his whole-hearted support, with
the result that in l6l7 exports reached the 20,000 pound total, and by
1619 this had been more than doubled. Thus, a new trade and industry
were born in the Colony, which proved to be the economic salvation
of Virginia, and provided a means for making slavery profitable. To-
bacco and slavery together led to the development of important char-
acteristics of the whole social, political, and economic structure of the
Old South. One of the immediate effects of tobacco culture in Virginia
was the impetus it gave to the expansion of the area of settlement and
to the number of settlers coming to Virginia.
THE SPREAD OF SETTLEMENT. Jamestown was planned as the first perma-
nent English settlement in Virginia. The fixed intention was to establish
other seats as soon as possible. As the limitations of Jamestown became
obvious, the desire for other town sites was intensified. Soon after the
settlement was made at Jamestown, temporary garrisons were placed at
outlying points for protective and administrative reasons—at Kecough-
tan (Hampton- Newport News), Cape Henry, and at the falls of the
James. The first efforts in this direction, except at Kecoughtan, ended
in the fall of 1609 under pressure from the Indians. With the arrival of
Delaware, Kecoughtan (renamed Elizabeth City in 1621) was established
as a permanent settlement. Dale and Gates went on to establish the city
of Henricus (Henrico) well up the James near the falls. Then came
Charles City (the earlier Bermuda Nether Hundred) which developed
into the last of the four settlements established by the Company, each
of which had the designation "city." These four settlements were the
only towns specifically set up by the Company and consequently under
its complete control. These later came to be mentioned in the records
as the "Four Ancient Boroughs" or "four ancient Incorporations." As
one of these, Jamestown became the center of the political subdivision
that developed into one of the original Virginia shires in 1634. Within
the next decade the term county replaced that of shire, and today, al-
though Jamestown has ceased to exist as a corporate organization, James
City County continues to function as the oldest governing unit in
English America.
Although the four "cities" constituted the first settlements in Vir-
ginia and were the only ones established directly under Company con-
trol, they were but the beginning. About 1616, a new plan gave rise to
the creation of settlements known as "particular plantations," some-
times called "hundreds" as a result of the practice of awarding land on
the basis of 100 acres or of sending settlers in groups of the same num-
ber. These were established with Company permission, which included
a grant of land made to individual groups of stockholders organized for
the purpose of setting up a specific settlement. The first of these was
Martin's Hundred, in l6l7, and others followed rapidly. By the summer
of 1619, there were seven particular plantations already functioning, in
addition to the original "cities," a term sometimes thought to derive
from the form of government being used by the "City of Geneva" in
Switzerland which was held in high esteem by some of the Company
officials, particularly by Sir Edwin Sandys who became Treasurer of the
Virginia Company in 1618.
With the spread of settlement east and west along the James and out-
ward along the rivers and creeks as well, Jamestown lay approximately
in the center of an expanding and growing Colony. It was the capital
town and the principal center of the Colony's social and political life.
In size it remained small, yet it was intimately and directly related to
all of the significant developments of the seventeenth century. Its phys-
ical aspects changed with the evolution of seventeenth century archi-
tectural patterns and designs. Life in the town was varied and perhaps
representative of the best in the Colony for almost a century. As wealth
accumulated, the manner of living broadened and improved. There is
strong evidence that Jamestown was the first to feel the impact of the
advantages and efforts that this produced, particularly in the first half
century of its existence. Material progress is evident as early as 1619 in
the letter of John Pory, Secretary of the Colony, written from Virginia
late in that year:
"Nowe that your lordship may knowe, that we are not the veriest
beggars in the worlde, our cowekeeper here of James citty on Sun-
day goes accowtered all in freshe naming silke; and a wife of one
that in England had professed the black arte, not of a schollar, but
of a collier of Croydon, weares her rough bever hatt with a faire
perle hatband, and a silken suite thereto correspondent."
THE BEGINNING OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. In l6l8, there were
internal changes in the Virginia Company that led to the resignation of
Sir Thomas Smith, as Treasurer, and to the election of Sir Edwin Sandys
as his successor. This roughly corresponded to changes in Company
policy toward the administration of the Colony and to intensified efforts
to develop Virginia. It led to the abolition of martial law, to the estab-
lishment of individual property ownership, and greater freedom and
participation in matters of government. Virginia already enjoyed a high
degree of religious freedom due, perhaps, to the fact that a number of
Company officers were strongly under the influence of the puritan ele-
ment within the Church of England. This, together with the fact that
Virginia was not settled purely for religious reasons, caused less stress
to be put on absolute uniformity in church matters. Sir George Yeardley,
recently knighted, returned to Virginia as governor, in April 1619, and
was the first spokesman in the Colony for the new policy toward Vir-
ginia. In England it had been ably advanced on behalf of the Colony by
Sir Edwin Sandys, the Earl of Southampton, and John and Nicholas
Ferrar.
Soon after his arrival, Yeardley issued a call for the first representative
legislative assembly in America which convened at Jamestown on July
30, 1619, and remained in session until August 4. This was the begin-
ning of our present system of representative government in America.
The full intentions behind the moves that led to this historic meeting
may never be known. It seems to have been an attempt to give to the
Englishmen in America those rights and privileges of Englishmen that
had been guaranteed to them in the original Company charter, rather
than a planned attempt to establish self-government in the New World
on a scale that might have been in violation of English law and custom
at the time. Whatever the motive, the significance of this meeting in
the church at Jamestown remains the same. This body of duly chosen
representatives of the people has continued in existence and its evolu-
tion leads directly to our State legislatures and to the Congress of the
United States.
DEVELOPMENTS, 1619-24. Another significant development of 1619 was
the arrival of "maids" sent by the Company to become wives of the
settlers. Homes and children were conducive to established family life
and permanent residence. The Company recognized this, and other ships
followed with passenger lists made up of young ladies seeking their
fortunes in Virginia. This was but a part of the new program of the
Company. However, many women had arrived prior to that date and
were already established with their families at Jamestown and elsewhere.
The third of the momentous events for Jamestown and Virginia in
the year 1619 was the arrival of Negroes in the James River in a Dutch
warship. These remained in Virginia, some finding a home at James-
town, in what was actually the introduction of Negro slavery into the
Colony. It was more than a generation before the institution of Negro
slavery began to be entrenched as the backbone of the economic life in
Virginia, yet this event of 1619 was the first move in that direction.
Under Dale, the emphasis was away from Jamestown, yet later
governors found the original seat more desirable. Capt. Samuel Argall,
who succeeded Yeardley as deputy governor in 1617, wrote that he ad-
vanced physical improvements prior to his hasty withdrawal from
Virginia in the spring of 1619 to avoid arrest under charges of mis-
management of Company affairs. Argall had been the first to prescribe
limits for Jamestown. Yeardley followed him as governor, and for the
next few years Jamestown, at this time most often called "James City,
witnessed considerable growth and activity. The town, long before, had
expanded outside of the fort and spread along the shore on the extreme
west end of the Island. The borough or incorporation, of which it was
the center, extended west to the Chickahominy River and down river as
far as Hog Island. Its territory was along the north side of the river and
included the south side as well—the area that later became Surry County.
West toward the Chickahominy the area adjacent to Jamestown Island
became rather heavily developed and was referred to as the "Suburbs of
James City."
The period from 1619 to 1624 was one of considerable activity for
Virginia in general and Jamestown in particular. The reorganized Vir-
ginia Company, following its political changes, renewed its efforts to
expand the Colony and to stimulate profitable employment. Heavy
emphasis was placed on new industries, particularly iron and glass, the
latter evidently attempted a second time on Glass House Point. The
planting of mulberry trees and the growing of silkworms were advanced
by the dispatch of treatises on silk culture and silkworm eggs in a
project in which King James I himself had a personal interest. Immigra-
tion to the Colony was increased, and measures were taken to meet the
religious and educational needs of the settlers. This was the period that
saw the attempt to establish a college at Henrico.
The industrial and manufacturing efforts of these years, however, were
not destined to succeed. This condition was not due to any laxity on the
part of George Sandys, resident Treasurer in Virginia, who was some-
thing of an economic on-the-spot supervisor for the Company. Virginia
could not yet support these projects profitably, and interest was lacking
on the part of the planters who found in tobacco a source of wealth
superior to anything else that had been tried. Tobacco was profitable,
and it was grown, at times, even in the streets of Jamestown. It was the
profit from tobacco that supported the improved living conditions that
came throughout the Colony.
These Englishmen who came to settle in the wilderness retained their
desire for the advantages of life in England. Books, for example, were
highly valued, and with the passage of the years were no uncommon
commodity in Virginia. As early as 1608, Rev. Robert Hunt had a
library at Jamestown, which was consumed by fire in January of that
year. Each new group of colonists seemingly added to the store on
hand—Bibles, Books of Common Prayer, other religious works, medical
and scientific treatises, legal publications, accounts of gardening, and
such. In 1621, the Company wrote to the colonial officials regarding
works for a new minister being sent to the Colony that: "As for bookes
we doubt not but you wilbe able to supplie him out of the lybraries of
so many that have died." By this date there was local literary effort, too,
such as that by Treasurer George Sandys who continued his celebrated
translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses in the house of William Pierce at
Jamestown. Then, too, in March 1623, a gentleman of the Colony sent
from "lames his Towne" the ballad "Good Newes from Virginia" in
which, among other things, he describes the arrival of the governor's
"NEW TOWNE." It is in the 1619 to 1624 period that the first clear picture
of Jamestown emerges, for this period corresponds with the earliest
known property records that exist. The town had outgrown the original
fort in some years past and now appeared as a fairly flourishing settle-
ment. The records reveal that many of the property owners were yeomen,
merchants, carpenters, hog-raisers, farmers, joiners, shopkeepers, and
ordinary "fellows," as well as governors and colonial officials. The "New
Towne" section of James City developed in this period as the old section
proved too small and the residents began to build more substantial
houses, principally frame on brick foundations. The Indian massacre of
1622, that wrought such heavy devastation in the outlying regions of the
Colony, did not reach Jamestown which was warned through the efforts
of the Indian, Chanco. It did temporarily cause congestion in the James-
town area, however, as the survivors from the more distant settlements
fell back for safety and to regroup. The punitive Indian campaigns that
followed were directed from Jamestown by the governor who resided
there.
The population figures taken in these years give a good idea of the
size of Jamestown in this period. In February 1624, it is recorded that
183 persons were living in Jamestown and 35 others on the Island out-
side of the town. These are listed by name, as are the 87 who died be-
tween April 1623 and the following February. The death toll suggests
that the mortality rate was continuing high and that it was still difficult
for newcomers to adapt themselves to the Virginia environment. In the
"census" of January 1625, a total of 124 residents are listed for "James
Citty" and an additional 51 for the Island. In the over-all total of 175,
122 were males and 53, females. At that time, Governor Sir Francis
Wyatt and former Governor Yeardley had two of the largest musters
for the town, which included women, children, indentured servants, and
Negroes. Nine Negroes were listed for Jamestown and the Island,
evidently some of those brought there in l6l9.
Aside from the population statistics, the musters of January 1625 give
much more information. Jamestown had a church, a court-of-guard
(guardhouse), 3 stores, a merchant's store, and 33 houses. Ten of the
Colony's 40 boats were here, including a skiff, a "shallop" of 4 tons, and
a "barque" of 40 tons. There were stores offish (24,880 pounds to be
exact), corn, peas, and meal. There were four pieces of ordnance, sup-
plies of powder, shot and lead, and, for indivudual use, "fixt peeces,"
snaphances, pistols, swords (to the number of 70), coats of mail, quilted
coats, and suits of armor (35 of them complete). The bulk of the
Colony's livestock seems to have been localized in the Jamestown area—
about half (183) of the cattle, a little more than half (265) of the hogs,
and well over half (126) of the goats. The one horse listed for the
Colony was shown to have been at Jamestown.
The "census" clearly indicates that the population of Jamestown was
not keeping pace with that of the Colony. The needs of tobacco culture-
open fields and new soil—and the abundance of navigable waters in the
rivers, bays, and creeks of tidewater Virginia led to a scattered popula-
tion, based on the plantation system. These factors prevented the rise of
trade centers and large towns for almost a century, despite the best efforts
of both home and colonial officials. The idea was to make Jamestown
the center of social, political, and economic life and to develop it into
a city of some proportions. In size, it never attained that of a city and it
failed to dominate trade and commerce. It was, however, the hub of
political and social life for as long as it was the capital of Virginia—92
years. Hence, its story is vital to an understanding of American begin-
nings. Its citizens, in their daily life and work, developed the origins of
many of our institutions, styles, and customs in speech, in architecture,
in dress, and in government organization.
VIRGINIA MADE A ROYAL COLONY. The Virginia Company established
the first permanent English settlement in America, but did not reap the
profits that it had expected. Despite reorganization and large expendi-
tures, it never achieved its full objective and was increasingly subject to
criticism. Matters reached a head in 1624 when James I dissolved the
Company, thereby removing the hand that had guided Virginia affairs
for 17 years. With this act Virginia became a royal colony and continued
as such until the American Revolution made it free and independent.
From the point of view of operations in the Colony the change was
The remains of a seventeenth century (c. 1650) brick and tile kiln
found at Jamestown. This is the best preserved and most complete of
several kilns that have been uncovered, showing that the Jamestown
residents manufactured many of their bricks and roofing tiles.
almost painless although there was concern over land titles and a con-
tinuance of the Assembly which had already voiced its feeling on taxa-
tion without representation. The Company governor gave way to the
royal appointee, but most institutions were left intact.
Sir Francis Wyatt was the last Company governor, and he continued
in office for a while as royal governor. When he left for England, in
1626, Yeardley again became governor and served until he died at James-
town the next year. Capt. Francis West was named to the post as deputy.
Another deputy, Dr. John Pott, followed next in turn, and he was
replaced by the royal appointee, Sir John Harvey.
GOVERNOR HARVEY DEPOSED. Sir John Harvey first came to Virginia in
1624 as a member of a committee to report on conditions in the Colony.
It was in 1630 that he returned as royal governor and settled himself at
"James cittie, the seate of the Governor." In 1632, he had a commodious
house and was complaining of the expense of the entertainment that he
had to finance at the seat of government in "the Governors owne house.
Whether because of his personal nature, his own view or interpretation
of government, or because of the severe opposition that confronted him,
he managed to become thoroughly disliked throughout the Colony. His
high-handed and autocratic methods arrayed even his Council against
him.
In the end, his Council, in meetings at Jamestown, moved to depose
him, naming another to act in his stead—a bold measure, indeed. The
Assembly, in May 1635, approved this action, and Harvey was returned
to England to answer the charges placed against him there. The King,
it is true, returned Harvey to his post as royal governor in 1637, but un-
doubtedly both he and Harvey were impressed by the action that the
Colonists had taken to redress their grievances—they had deposed a
royal governor.
BRICK ARCHITECTURE. When Governor Harvey reached Jamestown in
January 1637 he made a special effort to promote the growth of the
town. The Assembly passed an act offering a "portion of land for a house
and garden" to every person who would undertake to build on it within
2 years. This was the beginning of considerable activity at Jamestown.
A number of new patents were issued, and, in January 1639, the Gov-
ernor and his Council could report that twelve houses and stores had
been constructed and others had been begun. One of those already built
was the house of Richard Kemp, Secretary of the Colony. His house
was described as "one of brick" and "the fairest ever known in this coun-
try for substance and uniformity." Kemp's house is the earliest all-brick
house in Virginia that it has been possible to date conclusively up to
the present time. It was in 1639, too, that the first brick church was be-
gun, and a levy was collected for the acquisition of a statehouse. Among
the new land holders at Jamestown in this period of activity were Capt.
Thomas Hill, Rev. Thomas Hampton, and Alexander Stoner, a "brick-
maker." As the area along the river was occupied, additional patentees
obtained holdings just outside of the town proper and others settled in
the few lots that had been abandoned. Sir William Berkeley, who be-
came governor in 1641, continued the emphasis on the construction of
substantial houses. In that same year, the Colony acquired its first state-
house, formerly the property of Harvey and a building in which public
business had been transacted for, perhaps, as much as 10 years.
In March 1646, measures were taken to discourage the sale of liquors
on the Island, and a system of licensed ordinary keepers was adopted.
Later in the year, houses for the encouragement of linen manufacture
were projected for Jamestown. In 1649, the General Assembly estab-
lished a market and near the market zone was the landing for the ferry
that ran across the James to Surry County. Even this new action, how-
ever, failed to develop a town of any great extent. The same was true
of the Act of 1662 which attempted to encourage a substantial building
program for the capital town. Only a few houses were erected before the
new impetus had spent itself, and, in 1676, it is known that the town was
still little more than a large village. One of the more detailed descrip-
tions at this time relates that "The Towne . . . [extended] east and west,
about 3 quarters of a mile . . . [and] comprehended som 16 or 18
houses, most as is the church built of brick, faire and large; and in them
about a dozen families (for all the howses are not inhabited) getting
their liveings by keeping of ordnaries, at extreordnary rates."
THE COMMONWEALTH PERIOD. The decade of 1650-60 corresponded
with the period of the Commonwealth Government in England. Vir-
ginia, for the most part, appeared loyal to the crown, yet in 1652 the
Colony submitted to the new government when it demonstrated its
power before Jamestown. Governor Berkeley withdrew to his home at
Green Spring, just above Jamestown, and the General Assembly assumed
the governing role, acting under the Parliament of England. Virginia
was given liberal treatment, with considerable freedom in taxation and
matters of government. The governors in this interval, elected by the
Assembly, were Richard Bennett, Edward Digges (an active supporter
of the production of silk in Virginia), and Samuel Mathews. In 1660,
on the death of Mathews, the Assembly recalled Berkeley to the gov-
ernor's office, an act that was approved by Charles II, who was restored
to the English throne in that year. The decade passed quietly tor the
Colony, although in the years that followed it had occasion to remember
the liberal control that it had enjoyed. It had witnessed an increased
wave of immigration that brought some of those who were fleeing from
England, and this more than offset the loss of the Puritans whom Berke-
ley had forced out of the Colony prior to 1650.
In matters of religion, Virginia continued loyal to the Church of Eng-
land, although there was considerable freedom for the individual. .1 he
Puritans found it uncomfortable to remain, however, and two Quaker
preachers, William Cole and George Wilson, soon found themselves
in the prison at Jamestown. Writing "From that dirty dungeon in James-
town," in 1662, they described the prison as a place ". . . where we have
not the benefit to do what nature requireth, nor so much as air, to blow
in at a window, but close made up with brick and lime. ... Lord Balti-
more (George Calvert) did not find the Colony hospitable when he
visited Jamestown with his family in 1629. for, being a Roman Catholic
he could not take the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy which denied
the authority of the Pope.
BACON'S REBELLION, 1676-77. Bacon's Rebellion, one of the most dra-
matic episodes in the history of the English colonies, stands out as a
high light in seventeenth century Virginia. It broke in spectacular fashion
and is often hailed as a forerunner of the Revolution. It constituted the
only serious civil disturbance experienced by Virginia during its entire
life as a British colony. It occupies a prominent spot in the annals of
the times, and in any chronicle of Jamestown its significance can be mul-
tiplied many times, for a number of its stirring events took place at the
seat of government and resulted in excessive physical destruction in the
town.
The rebellion had its origin in Indian frontier difficulties and a royal
Governor (Sir William Berkeley) who, possibly as a result of his in-
volvement in the Indian trade, had become somewhat dictatorial, tyran-
nical, and a firm advocate of the status quo. The leader for the exposed
frontiersmen and the generally disgruntled Virginians came in the per-
son of Nathaniel Bacon, a young man of good birth, training, and educa-
tion who had come to Virginia in 1674. A distant kinsman of Lord
Chancellor Francis Bacon and a relative of another Nathaniel Bacon, a
leading citizen of Virginia, he soon became established as a first-rate
planter at Curles, in Henrico County, and was admitted to the Gov-
ernor's Council not long after his arrival.
The low prices for tobacco, the accumulative effects of the Naviga-
tion Acts, high taxes, and autocratic rule by Berkeley, whose loyal sup-
porters permeated the government structure and had not allowed an
election of burgesses for 15 years, had brought considerable underlying
discontent in Virginia. The spark came from the depredations of the
Susquehanna Indians who were being forced south by the powerful Iro-
quois. They made attacks all along the Virginia frontier. Berkeley ordered
a counterattack, but cancelled it in favor of maintaining a system of
forts along the edge of the western settlements. In March 1676, the
Assembly at Jamestown made plans for new forts; this measure, how-
ever, was both time-consuming and ineffective. Among the leaders who
assembled at the falls of the James for consultation regarding the Indian
menace was Nathaniel Bacon. William Byrd I was there, too, and, even
though he was the officer who had been named to guard the frontier,
Bacon was placed in command of the men sent to attack the enemy
Indians. A messenger left to request a commission for him from the gov-
ernor. Berkeley replied that he would discuss the matter with his Council.
Bacon then set out with his men to collect allies from among the
friendly Indians. While Bacon was on the march he received word from
Berkeley ordering him to return or be declared a rebel. Bacon did not
turn back but continued into the wilderness in search of the enemy.
Action came at Occaneechee Island. Bacon returned with captives and
was hailed as a hero by those who had heard of his exploits.
Governor Berkeley realized that the situation was becoming critical and
that he could lose control of his government. Prompt action was neces-
sary. He dissolved the House of Burgesses and ordered a new election.
The result was that many of his loyal adherents were replaced by repre-
sentatives, some of whom were unfriendly, even hostile, to him. The new
Assembly convened in the statehouse at "James Citty" on June 5, 1676,
and among the Burgesses was the defiant Bacon who had been returned
by the voters of Henrico. An announced rebel and not yet formally re-
moved from the Council, it is doubtful that he was eligible for his seat,
yet he determined to go to Jamestown and present his credentials.
He boarded his sloop, accompanied by about 40 supporters, and sailed
down the James. When near Jamestown he sent ahead to inquire whether
he would be allowed to enter the town in peace. A shot from a cannon
in the fort gave the negative answer. Despite this, Bacon secretly went
ashore at night to confer with two of his friends then living in James-
town—William Drummond, a former Governor in Carolina, and Richard
Lawrence, a former Oxford student. Later that night he returned to his
boat and started back up the James, but was taken by an officer whom
Berkeley had sent out to apprehend him. A dramatic scene followed at
Jamestown.
Bacon was brought before the Governor, paroled, and restored to the
Council. Berkeley knew that his opponent had the upper hand and that
the House of Burgesses, then in session, was against him. Bacon seem-
ingly could have remained in the capital and personally directed a full
program of economic and political reform. This evidently was not his
aim. He demanded a commission to go against the Indians, and, when
Berkeley delayed, he disappeared from Jamestown, later saying that his
person was in danger, although this appears unlikely. Bacon now en-
tered a course from which he could not turn back. With a sizable group
of supporters, on June 23, he returned again to Jamestown. He crossed
the isthmus ". . . there leveing a p'ty to secure ye passage, then marched
into Towne, . . . [sent] p'tyes to the ferry, River & fort, & ... [drew]
his forces ag't the state house." In the face of this show of force, the
Governor gave him a commission, and the Burgesses passed measures
designed to correct many old abuses. Among the new laws was one
establishing the bounds of Jamestown to include the entire Island and
giving the residents within these bounds the right, for the first time, to
make their own local ordinances.
By this time Bacon and his men were arrayed solidly against both
governor and royal government. The issue was defeat or independence
for Virginia, but Virginia was not yet ready and did not elect to face the
issue. Bacon, it seems, wanted extreme measures, and there is evidence
to indicate that he visualized the formation of an American Republic.
Yet when Bacon established himself as the opponent of royal govern-
ment in Virginia and subordinated his role as supporter of the frontier
settlers against misrule, he lost popular support. Had he lived and suc-
ceeded in arms, it is questionable that the people would have backed
him, for they had not shown much disposition to defy royal authority.
The discontent at this time was not so much against that authority as
against the misuse of it by Sir William Berkeley.
The issues having been drawn, Bacon pursued his course to the bitter
end. He returned to Henrico. When about to move a second time against
the Indians, news came that Berkeley was attempting to raise troops in
Gloucester County. Consequently, it was to Gloucester that Bacon first
moved, only to find that his opponent had withdrawn to Accomac, on
the Eastern Shore of Virginia. On August 1, at Middle Plantation (later
Williamsburg), Bacon sought to administer his oath of loyalty and to an-
nounce his "Declaration of the People" to those assembled there at his
summons. His next move was against the Pamunkey Indians. Then it
seemed necessary that he move again on Berkeley who now had returned
to Jamestown.
On September 13, 1676, he drew up his "few weake and Tyr'd" men
in the "Green Spring Old ffield," just above Jamestown, and posted
lookouts on Glass House Point. Then he ordered the construction of a
trench across the Island end of the isthmus. A raiding party advanced
as far as the palisade, near the edge of Jamestown proper. Berkeley
ordered several ships brought up as close to the shore as possible. Their
guns and the small arms of the men along the palisades opened fire
against Bacon, but proved ineffective in routing him from his entrench-
ments. On September 15, Berkeley organized a sally, "with horse and
foote in the Van," which retreated under hot fire from Bacon's entrench-
ments. At this point Berkeley's force lost heart, while his opponent's
spirit reached a new high. In any event, after a week of siege, the Gov-
ernor felt compelled to withdraw from Jamestown. This he did, by boat,
with many of his supporters. This was the high point of Bacon's for-
tune in arms, and a costly one. Seemingly, it was during the fatiguing
siege, which came "in a wett Season," that he contracted the illness that
caused his death and brought an abrupt end to the rebellion.
Following Berkeley's withdrawal, Bacon and his tired force marched
into Jamestown for rest. Wholesale destruction followed. As a contem-
porary put it, "Here resting a few daies they concerted the burning of
the town, wherein Mr. Laurence [Richard Lawrence] and Mr. [William]
Drummond owning the two best houses save one, set fire each to his
own house, which example the souldiers following laid the whole town
(with church and State house) in ashes. . . ." It is known from the rec-
ords that the destruction was systematic and that the town suffered
heavily from the burning. Among those losing homes and possessions
of high value were Col. Thomas Swann, Maj. Theophilus Hone "high
sheriff of Jamestown," William Sherwood, and Mr. James' "orphan,"
the last to the value of £1,000 sterling. It was estimated that total losses
reached a value of 1,500,000 pounds of tobacco. Again the idea was ad-
vanced to move the seat of government from Jamestown to some more
desirable location. A little later, Tindall's (now Gloucester) Point, on
the York, was given preferential consideration by the Assembly as a fit
location. The move was not made, however, and the capital remained
at Jamestown for another quarter of a century.
From Jamestown, Berkeley moved once more to the Eastern Shore.
Bacon, whose men pillaged Green Spring (Berkeley's home on the main-
land, just above Jamestown) on the way, marched to Gloucester, where
he became ill and died on October 26, 1676. The rebellion, now without
a real leader, quickly collapsed. Joseph Ingram, successor to Bacon, and
Gregory Wakelett, cavalry leader in Gloucester County, surrendered in
January 1677; Lawrence disappeared in the Chickahominy marshes; and
Drummond was promptly hanged. Berkeley moved with haste to silence
his opponents, making ready use of the death sentence.
Accommodations for the conduct of government were now whol y
inadequate at Jamestown. Consequently, Berkeley called the Assembly
to meet at Green Spring, which functioned for a time almost as the
temporary capital. In February 1677, the commissioners sent to invest
gate Bacon's Rebellion arrived in Virginia. With them came about 1,000
troops who encamped at Jamestown for the remainder of the winter and
ensuing spring. The commissioners, among them Col. Herbert Jeffreys,
the next governor, finding so much ruin and desolation at Jamestown,
made their headquarters in the home of Col. Thomas Swann across the
James from the capital town. Berkeley left for England in May and
Jeffreys took control in Virginia. It was not until March 1679, how-
ever, that definite action (following a recommendation of the investigat-
ing commissioners) was taken for the restoration of Jamestown. Then
it was ordered, in England, that the town be rebuilt and made the
metropolis of Virginia "as the most ancient and convenient place.
family estate at Jamestown had grown slowly since before 1650, and
Richard Ambler, of Yorktown, acquired, through marriage, the extensive
Jaquelin, formerly Sherwood, holdings. After 1830, the Island came
under a single ownership. Under the Amblers and Travises and later
owners of the Island, even parts of the town site itself became farm
land and functioned as an integral part of the plantation system which
earlier events at Jamestown had helped so materially to create.
The fields, and woods, and marshes lay quietly on the James for gen-
erations, contributing in a small, but important, manner to a growing
country. Americans often remembered the early years of the Colony and
the momentous events that had taken place on the Island, and joined
here to commemorate the deeds of their forefathers. There was the
Bicentennial of 1807, the Virginiad of 1822, the 250th anniversary in
1857, and the Tercentennial of 1907. In the years between these events
there were thousands who came individually and in small groups, the
famous and those now unknown. It was this remembrance and loyalty
to one of its great landmarks that led to the establishment of Jamestown
Island as a national historic shrine.
Colonial National Historical Park
Jamestown Island is within the boundaries of Colonial National His-
torical Park, which also includes the Yorktown Battlefield, the Colonial
Parkway, and the Cape Henry Memorial. The park was first established
as Colonial National Monument by Presidential proclamation in 1930
and given its present designation by act of Congress in 1936.
Jamestown Island embraces 1,559.5 acres which are about evenly
divided between marsh and dry land. In 1934 the United States acquired
the area now in Federal ownership.
Jamestown National Historic Site
(Grounds of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities)
Public attention was drawn to the preservation and protection of the
Jamestown area in 1893 when Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Barney, the then
owners of Jamestown Island, presented a tract of 22.5 acres, embracing
the Old Church Tower, the graveyard, and the west end of the town site
to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The
Association, better known perhaps as the APVA, is a nonprofit organiza-
tion interested in the acquisition, restoration, and preservation of
"ancient historic grounds, buildings, monuments, and tombs in the
Commonwealth of Virginia" and in the collection and care ot relics
associated with them or with the history of the State. Its Jamestown
grounds is one of a number of holdings which it administers. Another
is the seventeenth century Warren House on the Rolfe property in
Surry County, just across the James River from Jamestown.
Jamestown required. This was broadly labeled the Jamestown Arche-
ological Project and was initially set up in cooperation with representa-
tives of the Smithsonian Institution. Its over-all objective is to secure
and preserve all possible data on Jamestown history, with history given
its broadest interpretation, and to gain a well-rounded picture of social
and technological growth over the period during which Jamestown was
inhabited.
When the project got under way, trained historians began work in
the leading libraries of the country. At Jamestown, engineers and arche-
ologists, assisted by historians, architects, and museum technicians,
began a survey of the Island itself. Little of the old town existed above
ground, yet it was known that there were, in all probability, extensive
remains underground. Systematic excavations were begun on the town
site on July 11, 1934.
In the beginning, it was recognized that the project would be of long
duration, and even now it is expected that the work will continue for
many years. Only a part of the town site area has been excavated, and
A representative group of personal and household objects.
Sgraffito-often called "scratch" ware since the design was scratched
into the upper layer of pliable clay before it was baked-is one of the
most common seventeenth century ceramic types found at Jamestown.
some of the most significant spots have not yet been thoroughly studied
or dug. The present rate of progress is considerably reduced from that
achieved when extensive activity was made possible through the sup-
port of the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) and the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) programs in the years prior to World War
II The last field excavation prior to the War was done within the APVA
Grounds in 1940, and the first postwar work was done at Glass House
Point in 1948.
On June 1 1938, a field laboratory and storage building to house the
Jamestown activities was completed, giving the project a physical plant
comparable with the field headquarters of similar projects in other parts
of the country. This is the large, white, modernistically designed struc-
ture standing at Jamestown -- a temporary building planned to satisfy
the needs of fireproof construction, space, simplicity, and economy. It
will be removed when the full development of the town site has been
achieved. The building houses thousands of cultural objects and in-
cludes facilities for cleaning, sorting, restoring, and cataloguing, Each
operation in the work is done in a systematic, orderly, and approved
manner as outlined in a special Field and Laboratory Guide which was
compiled as a part of the project.
The Jamestown research activities may be properly classified as be-
longing to the relatively new and highly specialized field of historical
archeology. In fact, the Jamestown work has done much to advance
this new line of approach into the field where history and archeology
merge. The findings of the Jamestown Archeological Project have been ex-
tensive. Documentary study has gleaned data which, when carefully
examined in detail, yield a more complete picture of Jamestown and
life there in the seventeenth century than was thought possible. How-
ever, it is still a sketchy picture, lacking much of the body that is needed.
For this reason research goes on in anticipation of bridging the gaps.
Archeological work has been more fruitful than the most optimistic
anticipated in the initial phases of the work. The material and informa-
tion found beneath the ground at Jamestown have been, and continue
to be, astonishing in both quantity and type.
Architectural and construction features include various types. More
than 50 building remains have come to light. Sometimes there are only
the footings for a frame structure, then again there are brick foundations
in full outline, and sometimes there are well-preserved cellars with in-
teresting structural detail. Associated with the sites are quantities of
fragments of hardware, glass, roofing tile, and related building mate-
rials. Some of the building remains are those of the most prominent
structures at Jamestown, such as statehouses and governors' houses.
Brick kilns have been found, one being the well-preserved ruins in the
Association grounds, showing clearly that seventeenth century Vir-
ginians made much of their own brick and roofing tile. Several types
of early wells, often brick lined, have yielded many objects—objects de-
posited in the bottom accidentally, or by design, while it still served
as a source of drinking water. Even road traces still exist in the ground.
Some of these traces, considered in the light of documentary references,
have made it possible to reestablish the route of the "Great Rc)aa
formerly connecting the Island and the mainland. The reopening of old
property line ditches and the rediscovery offence lines (by identifying
old post holes) have aided immeasurably in locating property tracts.
This information, added to that in the old land grants and survey plats
has made possible the precise location of many early landholdings and
consequently helped in the study of the physical layout of the town.
Other features uncovered include lime kilns, where the early Jamestown
builders burned their own lime for plaster—occasionally found still
clinging to basement walls—and brick drains used to carry off surplus
water.
The number and variety of objects found in the excavating can only
be indicated in general terms. The great bulk of the thousands of items
now in the collection is made up of pieces of iron, copper, brass, bronze,
pewter, clay, and earth. Occasionally some more perishable material,
such as wool, leather, and wood, is found. Among the more interesting
categories are clay tobacco pipes, glass wine bottles, pottery vessels,
Delft tiles, gun and sword fragments, bullets, cannon balls, spurs, stir-
rups and bridles, locks, keys, nails, spoons, forks, shears, pins, thimbles
axes, hoes, window glass, buckles, combs, and rings. A complete list
would be much longer. Often only fragments remain, yet in many cases
it is possible to make a full restoration of the original piece, such as has
been done with the clay baking oven now on display in the Exhibit
Rooms. Individually and collectively these objects give us an insight
into the manner in which the seventeenth century Jamestown men and
families lived. Because of them, visitors to Jamestown will get a more
complete picture of their early forbears-how they dressed, how they
worked, how they built their houses, how they equipped their homes,
and how they satisfied their daily needs.
Development for Jamestown
No attempt will be made to restore Jamestown as it was in 1607 or at
any other period. The town was always small and always changing. The
Jamestown of 1607, or 1610, was unlike that of 1623, and that of 1623
was far different from that of 1675. Architecture went all the way from
timber and thatch structures to substantial all-brick houses. Even the
streets changed, and several houses occupied the same site as those
which were first built and later were burned, fell into ruin, or were re-
moved. Even if the town had had a reasonable continuity of building
types and plan, known information would be entirely insufficient to
allow a restoration. Major discoveries of new material are still expected,
yet the detail necessary for an authentic restoration may always be too
meager.
The site of old "James Towne" has, however, retained much of the
spirit of its antiquity. Its serene and peaceful atmosphere seems to take
one back through the years. Many visitors have been able, for a mo-
ment, to disassociate themselves from the swift pace of present living
as they wander past the old foundations and look upon the old Church
Tower. It is the plan of the National Park Service to endeavor to pre-
serve and to advance this feeling of oldness, this unbroken link with
the spirit of the past, and thus place emphasis on the presentation of
the town site itself as the real exhibit. It will be done through exposed
foundations, existing remains, trailside exhibits, winding paths, shaded
vistas, and secluded points for quiet reflection.
Physical features of the seventeenth century have not survived at
Jamestown in sufficient number to illustrate the complete story, and
the town site will not adapt itself to a full coverage. For this reason there
will be a museum group near the town site, which will perhaps be a
rather extensive development. It will house exhibits and will accommo-
date the sizeable collection of genuine Jamestown objects recovered
through the Jamestown Archeological Project and those otherwise
acquired.
Guide to the Area
(Numbers in the guide correspond to numbers on the map of Jamestown. See map
pages 24 and 25.)
The town of Jamestown developed on the west end of Jamestown
Island, near the site of the first landing. At its maximum extent it was
approximately three-fourths of a mile long and lay along the river. It was
a thin strip of a town between the James River and the marsh that came
to be called Pitch and Tar Swamp. At first there was only the fort, then
an enlarged palisaded area, and then a town. As the town expanded there
were houses, a church, a market place, shops, storehouses, forts, state-
houses, and other public buildings grouped along streets and paths.
The entire town site is an exhibit area.
The first landing site (1), which the colonists reached on May 13,
1607, and where, the next day, they landed supplies, has been fixed by
tradition as a point now in the river approximately 125 feet from the
present sea wall, almost directly out from the front of the Old Church
Tower. The first fort (1) built near the landing site, according to tradi-
tion, was located in front of the Tower and likewise on land that has
been washed away by the James River. Other possible locations for the
to have been a part of the first brick church, built at Jamestown about
1639. Its walls, 3 feet thick, of hand-made brick laid in English bond,
have been standing for more than 300 years. The Memorial Church,
directly behind the Tower, was erected in 1907 by the Colonial Dames
of America over the foundations of the early brick church. Within the
church are memorials and burials, including the "Knight's" tomb and
that of Rev. John Clough. Of particular note, inside the church, are the
exposed cobblestone foundations of an earlier church said to have
housed the first representative legislative assembly in America which
convened at Jamestown on July 30, 1619. In the Churchyard countless
dead are buried, and the few remaining gravestones are a witness to the
antiquity of the spot. These carry the names of Berkeley, Blair, Harrison,
Ludwell, Beverley, Lee, Sherwood, and others. Even the extent of the
burial ground is unknown. It is more extensive than either the iron grill
fence or the old brick wall (built of bricks from one of the seventeenth
century Jamestown churches) suggests.
Above the Church area, still within the Association grounds, is a
group of excavated foundations of buildings that served the Colony in
the last years of the seventeenth century. It was the accidental burning
of these structures that was the immediate reason for moving the seat
of government from Jamestown in 1699. This group -- the Last State-
house Group (3)-consisted of the last Country (Governor's) House,
three houses of Philip Ludwell, and the last (fourth) statehouse at
Jamestown. The third statehouse stood on the same site as the Iourth,
and it was the third that witnessed the stirring events associated with
Bacon's Rebellion.
The lone cypress tree (4), standing several hundred feet from the
shore, can be seen from the river end of the Last Statehouse Group. This
tree once stood on the Island and is visible evidence of the erosion that
has taken at least 25 acres of the western portion of the town site. The
concrete sea wall along the Association shore line (built in 1900-01) and
the later riprap extension of it now protect the site from further erosion.
The east end of Jamestown is that area developed after 1619, first
actually surveyed by William Claiborne in 1623, and the section which
was known to its first residents as New Towne (5). This is accessible
from the Exhibit Rooms over walks that follow the paths and the streets
of the old city, particularly the "Back-Streete" and the "high way close
to the river." Using old landmarks and general historical and archeo-
logical study it has been possible to locate and plot with reasonable ac-
curacy a number of the holdings in this part of Jamestown. There is the
plot taken up by Capt. John Harvey in 1624, on which he had houses
and where he kept a garden and cultivated fruit trees. Across Back-
Streete" from Harvey was the holding of Dr. John Pott who was sent
from England in 1621 accompanied by two surgeons and a chest of medi-
cine. He had a house here by 1622, although it was not until after this
date that he obtained his patent. West of Harvey was the home and lot
of George Menefie, an attorney, administrator, and member ot the
Council. Near Menefie was the tract of Ralph Hamor, Dale's Secretary
of State, who died in 1626. Farther west were the holdings ot John
Chew, a merchant (1624), and of Richard Stephens (1623), who had
personal difficulties with John Harvey, and who later appears to have
been a party to the first duel fought in an English colony. North ot the
"Back-Streete" and west of Pott's holdings were those ot Edward
The ruins of the Jaquelin-Ambler House which was the residence of the
Ambler family at Jamestown in the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries.
Blaney, a merchant, Capt. Roger Smith, and Capt. William Pierce,
whose house George Sandys pronounced "the fairest in Virginia."
The Country House (6) in this early period lay in the "New Towne"
section, and this is where Governors Argall, Yeardley, Wyatt, and their
successors lived. Perhaps a number of houses stood here prior to the
first brick structure that bears this designation. In excavations on the
site the foundations of the brick building were found, including ex-
cellent specimens of ornamental plaster which may have adorned this
structure or that of a later private residence of William Sherwood, found
to have occupied the same site.
Even the designation "New Towne" was forgotten in the years after
1650 when the area, including street alignment, changed considerably.
Those living in houses here or owning property in Jamestown's east end
then included Sherwood, Thomas Rabley, James Alsop, Richard Holder,
William Edwards, and Henry Hartwell, one of the founders of the
College of William and Mary. Extensive archeological study made it
possible to locate and to identify the scanty remains of Hartwell's frame
house (7). In this instance the discovery of a preponderance of "H-H"
initialed wine bottle seals furnished a good identity clue.
Near the river, still in the "New Towne" section, stood the first
Statehouse (8) in Virginia. Its foundations, too, have been uncovered,
together with many architectural fragments and informative objects of
the period of the house. This building served the Colony from 1641 to
1656. In it, during the early governorship of Sir William Berkeley,
were discussed the measures needful for the government of the growing
Colony. Here, too, the Colony submitted to the government of the
Commonwealth of England in 1652, and Richard Bennett, chosen by
the Assembly, succeeded Berkeley as governor.
In the center of the town site, just back from the river, rises the
Tercentenary Monument (9) erected by the United States in 1907 to
commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first settlement. Built of
New Hampshire granite, it rises 105 feet above its base. Other monu-
ments and memorials, all of which are in the Association grounds and
near the Church, include the Captain John Smith Statute (10), designed
by William Couper; the Pocahontas Monument (10), by William
Ordway Partridge; the House of Burgesses Monument (10), listing the
members of the first representative legislative body in the New World:
and the Memorial to Rev. Robert Hunt (11), who in June 1607, on
the third Sunday after Trinity, celebrated the first Holy Communion at
Jamestown.
The ruined walls of the Jaquelin- Ambler House (12) stands as a testi-
mony of the late colonial period (eighteenth century) when Jamestown
Island was no longer the seat of government and when, as the town
declined, the Island became the private estate of two families—Ambler
and Travis. The present walls of the Jaquelin-Ambler House constitute
the center portion of a rather impressive residence that was flanked by
two wings. It was begun about 1710 and when fully established had
formal gardens, the brick walks of which have been partly uncovered
during archeological work on the town site. A reminder, too, of a later
period is the Confederate Fort (13) near the Old Church Tower, built
by order of Gen. Robert E. Lee in 1861. This is one of several such
fortifications on the Island.
In the National Park Service Exhibit Rooms (14), in the front section
of the archeological laboratory, are illustrated panels giving the history
of Jamestown in brief outline and displays of objects which have been
recovered from the ground and which were used by early Jamestown
residents. From the corridor in the rear of the building it is possible to
see many additional fragments and restored objects. Other museum
displays are in the Association Relic House (15), a combined exhibit
room, souvenir shop, and rest house. Among the objects shown here,
including the Pocahontas earrings, are some that were recovered in
excavations at the Church, in the Churchyard, and around the Last
Statehouse Group foundations.
Outside of the town site to the east and south extends the bulk of
Jamestown Island (16). At present this is undeveloped and generally
not accessible to visitors. No structures survive above ground, except
scattered tombs in the Travis Graveyard, in the center of the Island,
but the whole Island is historic ground.
Service to the Public
The town site of Jamestown is open to visitors daily, including Sunday.
One admission charge of 40 cents, including Federal tax, gives access to
both the National Park Service area and the Grounds of the Association
for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Both are approached from
the central parking area. Literature and information are available with-
out charge in the Service Exhibit Rooms and at the Association Gate
House, where tickets are on sale. An attendant is also on duty at the
Relic House. All school students 12 to 18 years of age, inclusive, when
in groups, are admitted without charge, except payment of tax. All
children under 12 are admitted free. Guide service is not normally avail-
able; however, educational groups will be given special service if
arrangements arc made in advance with the Superintendent, Colonial
National Historical Park, Yorktown, Va. There are no eating or lodging
facilities at Jamestown.
How To Reach Jamestown
Jamestown Island is easily accessible from Williamsburg over Virginia
Highway 31 and from Richmond by Virginia Highway 5. The approach
from the south is over Virginia Highways 10 and 31 to the ferry across
the James at Scotland. The ferry docks at the Island. Sightseeing tour
buses operate from Williamsburg, the nearest rail and bus terminal.
The Colonial Parkway, now connecting Yorktown and Williamsburg,
will later be completed to Jamestown.
Administration
Jamestown Island, except Jamestown National Historic Site, is included
in the National Park System, owned by the people of the United States
and administered for them by the National Park Service of the Depart-
ment of the Interior. Jamestown National Historic Site, constituting
the grounds of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities, is administered by the Association. A cooperative agree-
ment between the Association and the Department of the Interior has
been in effect since 1940 providing for a unified program of development
for the whole of Jamestown Island.
Communications and inquiries relating to the National Park Service
area should be addressed to the Superintendent, Colonial National
Historical Park, Yorktown, Va.
Communications and inquiries relating to the Association for the
Preservation of Virginia Antiquities area should be addressed to the
Association at Jamestown, Va.
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