Chapter II: Part 2

Soon after his arrival, Yeardley issued a call for a representative legislative assembly which convened at Jamestown on July 30, 1619, and remained in session until August 4. This was the earliest example 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 evolution leads directly to our State legislatures and to the Congress of the United States.

DEVELOPMENTS, 1619-24.

Another significant development of 1619 was the sending by the company of maidens to Virginia to be wives of the settlers. Although many women were already established with their families in the Jamestown colony, the company recognized that homes and children for all the men would be conducive to established family life and permanent residence. Under this new project, the first maidens arrived in May and June 1620. Others followed, as ships brought more and more young women seeking their fortunes in Virginia.

The third momentous event in 1619 was the arrival of Negroes in a Dutch warship. They remained in Virginia, some finding homes, and some as indentured servants even as some white men were at that time. Nevertheless, this first arrival of Negroes was to lead to the introduction of slavery into the colony. It was more than a generation before the institution of 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 on colonization was away from Jamestown, yet later governors found the original seat desirable. Capt. Samuel Argall, who succeeded Yeardley as deputy governor in 1617, wrote that he advanced physical improvements prior to his hasty withdrawal from Virginia in the spring of 1619 to avoid arrest under charges of mismanagement 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 downriver beyond 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 Virginia 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 Glasshouse 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. Immigration 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 something 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 “_Iames_ his Towne” the ballad “Good Newes from Virginia” in which, among other things, he describes the arrival of the governor’s wife at Jamestown and uses this to prod others to support the colony and to settle in Virginia.

_But last of all that Lady faire,
that woman worth renoune:
That left her Country and her friends,
to grace braue_ Iames _his towne_.

_The wife unto our Gouernour,
did safely here ariue:
With many gallants following her,
whom God preserue aliue.
What man would stay when Ladies gay,
both liues and fortunes leaues:
To taste what we haue truely sowne,
truth never man deceaues._

(From _The William and Mary Quarterly_, 3rd Ser., V, 357-8)

“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 settlement. 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 colony, did not reach Jamestown which was warned through the efforts of the Indian, Chanco. It did temporarily cause congestion in the Jamestown 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 outside of the town. These are listed by name, as are the 87 who died between 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 173, 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 1619.

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 of fish (24,880 pounds to be exact), corn, peas, and meal. There were four pieces of ordnance, supplies of powder, shot and lead, and, for individual 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 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 population, 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 beginnings. 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 expenditures, 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 almost painless although there was concern over land titles and a continuance of the assembly which had already voiced its feeling on taxation 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 Jamestown 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 here and was complaining of the expense of the entertainment that he had to finance 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 undoubtedly 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 governor and his council could report that 12 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 country 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 begun, 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 “brickmaker.” 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 were not in use. Sir William Berkeley, who became governor in 1641, continued the emphasis on the construction of substantial houses. In that same year, the colony acquired its first statehouse, 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 established a market and near the market area was the landing for the ferry that ran across the James to Surry County. Even this new action, however, 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 descriptions at this time relates that “The Towne ... [extended] east and west, about 3 quarters of a mile ... [and] comprehended som[e] 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 corresponds to the period of the Commonwealth Government in England. Virginia, 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 governor’s office, an act that was approved by Charles II, who was restored to the English throne in that year. The decade passed quietly for 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 Berkeley had forced out of the colony prior to 1650.

In matters of religion, Virginia continued loyal to the Church of England, although there was considerable freedom for the individual. The Puritans found it uncomfortable to remain, however, and two Quaker preachers, William Cole and George Wilson, soon found themselves in prison at Jamestown. Writing “From that dirty dungeon in Jamestown,” 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 Baltimore (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 dramatic episodes in the history of the English colonies, stands out as a highlight in 17th-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 multiplied 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 involvement in the Indian trade, had become somewhat dictatorial, tyrannical, and a firm advocate of the _status quo_. The leader for the exposed frontiersmen and the generally disgruntled Virginians came in the person of Nathaniel Bacon, a young man of good birth, training, and education who had come to Virginia in 1674. A distant kinsman of Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon and a relative of another Nathaniel Bacon, who was a leading citizen of Virginia, he soon became established as a first-rate planter at Curles, in Henrico County, and was admitted to the Governor’s Council not long after his arrival.

Considerable underlying discontent had been aroused in Virginia by the low prices for tobacco, the cumulative effects of the Navigation Acts, high taxes, and autocratic rule by Berkeley, whose loyal supporters permeated the government structure and had not allowed an election of burgesses for 15 years. The spark came from the depredations of the Susquehanna Indians who were being forced south by the powerful Iroquois. 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, however, was both time-consuming and ineffective. Among the leaders who assembled at the falls of the James for consultation regarding the Indian menace was the young 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 governor. 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 necessary. He dissolved the House of Burgesses and ordered a new election. The result was that many of his loyal adherents were replaced by representatives, 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 removed 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 Jamestown—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 seemingly 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 entered 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 le[a]veing a party to secure the passage, then marched into Towne, ... [sent] partyes to the ferry, River & fort, & ... [drew] his forces against 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 government in Virginia and subordinated his role as supporter of the frontier settlers against misrule, he lost popular support. Had he lived and succeeded 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 announce 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 [tired]” men in the “Green Spring Old Field,” just above Jamestown, and posted lookouts on Glasshouse 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 entrenchments. On September 15, Berkeley organized a sally, “with horse and foote in the Van,” which retreated under hot fire from Bacon’s entrenchments. 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 governor felt compelled to withdraw from Jamestown. This he did, by boat, with many of his supporters. This was the high point of Bacon’s fortune 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 contemporary 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 records 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. It was estimated that total losses reached a value of 1,500,000 pounds of tobacco. Again the idea was advanced 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 mainland, 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 wholly 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 who were sent to investigate 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, however, that definite action (following a recommendation of the investigating 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.”

JAMESTOWN REBUILT.

Lord Culpeper reached Virginia in May 1680, with instructions to rebuild Jamestown and to develop it into an urban center. In 1683, he was able to report that he had given all possible encouragement to this enterprise and that, although he himself was living at Green Spring, considerable activity had begun. He mentioned specifically that Nathaniel Bacon (the kinsman of the rebel), Joseph Bridger, and William Sherwood had substantial work under way. A little later the fourth statehouse was completed, as was the church. By 1697 the town had been rebuilt and boasted of a statehouse, country house, church, fort, powder magazine, and 20 or 30 houses. In this period William Sherwood, for a time attorney general for the colony, was a major landholder on the island and in the town. Others included Robert Beverley, author of one of the early histories of Virginia; William Edwards, clerk of the Council; Henry Hartwell; and John Page. It was in 1686 that John Clayton, minister at Jamestown, offered proposals for draining the marshes nearby to improve the healthfulness of the spot, a project that never materialized.

STATEHOUSE BURNED AND CAPITAL MOVED.

On October 31, 1698, a fire consumed the Statehouse, prison, and probably other buildings at Jamestown, although the records and papers were saved. This fire led to the removal of the seat of government to Middle Plantation (Williamsburg)—a spot favored by the Governor, Sir Francis Nicholson. Thus, Jamestown was abandoned as the seat of government after 92 years. Its mission had been accomplished, and it had seen Virginia grow from the small settlement of 1607 into a colony of great extent, with a population of perhaps 80,000.

LATER YEARS AT JAMESTOWN.

The removal of the capital ultimately proved the death blow for Jamestown, for this eliminated the primary reason for its existence. Decline set in immediately, but Jamestown retained a seat in the assembly for another three-quarters of a century. Its end as a town, legally and physically, may be given as the period of the American Revolution. There was a military post here early in that struggle. Later, it became a point of exchange for American and British prisoners of war, and it featured in the maneuvers leading to the Siege of Yorktown. It witnessed the movement of Cornwallis’ army across the James and was a landing and resting point for American and French soldiers being sent to join Washington’s allied army.

Even before 1700, property on Jamestown Island was being consolidated into a few hands. The consolidation continued unabated after this date, and before the middle of the 18th century the major part of the island was in the hands of two families—Ambler and Travis—each of which had its own “mansion.” The Travis 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 townsite 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 generations, 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.

_Jamestown National Historic Site_

The first organized effort toward saving the Jamestown area came in 1893 when the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities acquired 22.5 acres of the old townsite. This land, donated for preservation by Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Barney, embraced the Old Church Tower, the graveyard, and the west end of the townsite.

The Association which was chartered in 1889 is better known, perhaps, as the APVA. It is a non-profit organization interested in the acquisition, preservation, and restoration of “ancient historic grounds, buildings, monuments, and tombs in the Commonwealth of Virginia” and in the collection and care of relics associated with them or with the history of the State. Its Jamestown property is one of a number of holdings which it administers. Another is the 17th-century Warren House on the Rolfe property in Surry County just across the James River from Jamestown.

Until 1934 the Association was the sole active agency working at Jamestown to conserve and interpret the site for the American people. As the custodian of a significant part of the site of old “James Towne,” it continues working to promote measures insuring the protection of the site and making it available for your use and inspiration. Landscaping, limited reconstruction, some restoration, and the stabilization of the remains of the Old Church Tower, the tombs, and foundations have all been a part of its program, together with the acquisition and display of Jamestown relics. In its work, it has solicited and received aid from various organizations, particularly patriotic societies, in the placement of memorials, and related activities. The Memorial Church was constructed by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. The Association was especially active in preparation for the Jamestown Exposition in 1907.

The Association was successful in its efforts to encourage the United States Government to construct the seawall which was built by Col. Samuel H. Yonge in 1900-1901 to halt bank erosion by the James River along the Association grounds. Colonel Yonge became a serious student of Jamestown history and wrote _The Site of Old “James Towne,” 1607-1698_, a work still available through purchase from the Association. In 1907, the Association made available the grounds on which the Tercentenary Monument was erected, and again in 1956 it provided land on which to place the Jamestown Visitor Center.

In 1940 the Association entered into agreement with the United States of America, through the Secretary of the Interior, to provide for a unified program of development and administration for the island. It was at this time that the APVA grounds were designated as Jamestown National Historic Site. The joint cooperative agreement continues in force and the Association and the National Park Service are working together to preserve, maintain, and interpret this historic area.

In 1956 it became possible to present the townsite as a single unit when the ferry to the island and the State highway crossing the island were moved upriver above Jamestown. The APVA and the Service then combined their separate museum exhibits to form the displays now seen in the Visitor Center, and consolidated other operations at the center where both are hosts to Jamestown visitors.

_Colonial National Historical Park_

In 1930, by Presidential proclamation, all of Jamestown Island’s 1,559.5 acres (equally divided between marsh and dry land) were included within the boundaries of Colonial National Monument. The monument designation was changed to that of a national historical park by act of Congress in 1936. Actual Federal ownership of the island (other than the 22-acre Association tract) was obtained in 1934, and some years later, a bit of the mainland opposite the western tip of Jamestown was added because of its close ties to the site.

Colonial National Historical Park is made up of several areas of which Jamestown is one. It includes, as well, the Cape Henry Memorial, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where the first settlers who established Jamestown first stopped in Virginia; the Yorktown Battlefield; and the Colonial Parkway.

_Colonial Parkway_

This 23-mile scenic motor road connects historic Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Along its course are descriptive markers that give bits of history which often show the interrelation of Jamestown (where the Nation began), Williamsburg (the 18th-century capital of Virginia where important elements of our Revolutionary leadership were nourished), and Yorktown (where the climatic battle in our struggle for independence was fought).

_The Study of Jamestown_

When the major part of Jamestown Island, including much of the townsite, was placed in its custody in 1934, the National Park Service, working with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, assumed responsibility for preservation of the historic remains on the island and for interpreting the site. This posed many problems, for the Jamestown story is a vital segment of our national history, involving the origins and growth of the culture of this formative period of English colonization. The first pressing concern was the accumulation of data on which to base a more complete understanding of life and conditions as they existed at that time, specifically at Jamestown. This was needed in order to plan for the preservation, development, and interpretation of the area.

A program was drawn up which combined the various types of research that the conditions and problems at Jamestown required. The overall objective was to secure and preserve all possible data on Jamestown history (giving history its broadest interpretation), and to gain a well-rounded picture of the growth of agriculture, industry, commerce, and society during the period Jamestown was inhabited.

Trained historians began to search in the leading libraries of the country. At Jamestown, engineers and archeologists, assisted by historians, architects, and museum technicians, began to survey the island. Little of the old town existed aboveground, yet it was known that there were, in all probability, extensive remains underground. Systematic excavation was begun on the townsite on July 11, 1934.

In the beginning, it was recognized that the program would be of long duration. Initially, in the years prior to World War II, the support of the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) proved invaluable. Work all but ceased during the war years and went on at a very slow rate in the years just after the war. The program was renewed with vigor in 1954 as plans for Jamestown’s 350th anniversary began to materialize.

On June 1, 1938, a field laboratory and storage building to house the Jamestown activities was completed, giving the project an adequate physical plant. It soon came to house thousands of cultural objects and included offices as well as facilities for cleaning, sorting, storing, and cataloguing excavated materials. This temporary building served the need for study, and later for interpretation, until it was removed early in 1957. It was replaced, although on a different site, by the Jamestown Visitor Center early in 1957.

The findings of the program have been extensive. Documentary Study has gleaned data which, when carefully examined, yields a more complete picture of 17th-century Jamestown than was thought possible. However, the picture is sketchy and needs the details filled in. For this reason, research continues in anticipation of bridging the gaps.

Archeological work proved more fruitful than the most optimistic had anticipated during the initial phases of the work. The materials and information found beneath the ground at Jamestown have been astonishing in both quantity and type. Architectural and constructural findings are of various types. More than a hundred building-remains have been excavated. Some are only the footings for a frame structure, some are brick foundations in full outline, and others are well-preserved cellars with interesting structural detail. Associated with the sites are fragments of hardware, glass, roofing tile, and related building materials. 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 17th-century Virginians made much of their own brick and roofing tile. Pottery manufacture has been documented as well as other such activities. Several types of early wells, often brick-lined, have yielded many objects dropped in accidentally, or by design, while they were still in use.

Even road traces still exist. Some of them, considered in the light of documentary references, have made it possible to reestablish the route of the “Greate Road” formerly connecting the island and the mainland. The reopening of old property line ditches and the rediscovery of fence lines (by identifying old post holes) have aided immeasurably in locating property tracts. This information, added to that of the old land grants and survey plats, has made possible the location of many early landholdings and has 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.

The number and variety of objects found in the excavations can only be indicated in general terms. The great bulk of thousands of items now collected is made up of pieces of iron, copper, brass, bronze, pewter, clay, and earth. Occasionally some more perishable materials, such as wool, leather, and wood, are found. Among the more interesting finds are clay tobacco pipes, glass wine bottles, pottery vessels, Delft tiles, gun and sword fragments, bullets, cannon balls, spurs, bits of armor, stirrups 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 a clay baking oven. A special illustrated publication is available, in popular style, describing the archeological work and the collection.

Individually and collectively, these objects give us an insight into the manner in which 17th-century Jamestown men and their families lived. These objects will help you get a more complete picture of the first Virginians—how they dressed, worked, built and equipped their homes, and satisfied their daily needs.

_The Development of 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. Jamestown, it might be said, was never a city in the modern concept. It was more a village, a small community. The town 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 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. You may be able, for a moment, to disassociate yourself from the swift pace of present living as you wander past the old foundations and look upon the Old Church Tower.

The National Park Service, following the precedent established by the Association, is endeavoring to preserve this unbroken link with the past. The emphasis is on the presentation of the townsite itself and the island wilderness as the real exhibit. There are “streets” and winding paths, exposed and marked foundations, existing remains, paintings of buildings and scenes, property markings (old ditches, fences of period design, and hedges), and natural planting. Shaded vistas and secluded points for quiet reflection are provided as much as possible. Some use is being made of period-type buildings (but not specific reconstructions) as in the “glasshouse” with its thatch, wattle and daub, and “cruck” design.

Physical features of the 17th century have not survived at Jamestown in sufficient number to illustrate the complete story, and the townsite will not adapt itself to a full coverage. However, there are extensive supplementary exhibits in the Jamestown Visitor Center, which are designed to help you understand and “experience” Jamestown.

HINGES
NAILS
DOOR LOCKS
RIVET
PADLOCKS
STRAP HINGE
STRAP HINGE WITH PINTLE
KEYS

_Guide to the Area_

(Numbers correspond to numbers on the map on page 43.)

“James Towne” developed on the west end of Jamestown Island. At its maximum extent it lay along the river for approximately three-quarters of a mile. 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. Gradually the town grew with the building of houses, a church, a market place, shops, storehouses, forts, statehouses, and other public buildings grouped along streets and paths. The entire townsite is an exhibit area. The _Visitor Center_ (1), at its edge, is a short distance from the parking area across a trestle bridge spanning Pitch and Tar Swamp.

In the Visitor Center, sponsored jointly by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and the National Park Service, an orientation program of movies and slides, an information desk, an extensive series of exhibits, and literature and souvenirs are available. The exhibits include many irreplaceable objects, such as earrings of Pocahontas, and many objects recovered from the ground. There are dioramas, a large model of James Fort, illustrated panels, and other displays telling about early Jamestown and explaining the points of interest on the townsite and along the island tour or drive.

The adjacent townsite is easily reached from the Visitor Center, and a good general view of it may be had from the observation terrace around the _Tercentenary Monument_ (2). This shaft of New Hampshire granite rising 103 feet above its base was erected in 1907 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the settlement.

A footpath leads from the monument terrace to the church area, crossing the trace of the “Greate Road,” which served the town’s residents some 300 years ago. It passes close to the site of a 17th-century brick kiln just inside the entrance to the APVA grounds.

The _Church Area_ (3), the most inspiring spot at Jamestown today, embraces the Old Tower, the Memorial Church, and the Churchyard. The ivy-covered _Old Church Tower_ is the only standing ruin of the 17th-century town. It is believed to have been a part of the first brick church built about 1639. Its 3-foot-thick walls of handmade 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 National Society of 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_ many dead are buried, and the few gravestones that have survived the wear of time and weather are a witness to the antiquity of the spot. These carry the names of Berkeley, Blair, Harrison, Ludwell, Bevereley, 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 wall (built of bricks from the ruins of one of the 17th-century Jamestown churches) suggests.

Adjacent to the church are a number of memorials and monuments erected through the years, particularly in 1907, to commemorate important events at Jamestown and to honor some of those outstanding in Virginia history. These include the _House of Burgesses Monument_ (4) listing the members of America’s first representative legislative assembly in 1619, the _Pocahontas Monument_ (5), by William Ordway Partridge; and the _Capt. John Smith Statue_ (6), designed by William Couper.

The footpath leads to the concrete walkway on the edge of the seawall. This seawall (built in 1900-1901) along the shoreline of the Association grounds and the later riprap extension of it now protect the site from further erosion. Walk to the right (upriver) along the concrete walkway. It passes near, but outside, the _Confederate_ earthwork thrown up in 1861 when the James River approach to Richmond was being fortified. At one point a bit of history can be read from the ground in a _Site Use Exhibit_ (7). The earth in the side of the embankment has been carefully sliced and various levels are identified—undisturbed ground, the level of Indian use, the zone with evidences of 17th-century use, and, topping all, the earthwork built by Confederate troops in 1861.

Just beyond, but at a point now in the river, due to the erosion of the last three centuries, is the site of “_James Fort_” (8), which was built in May and June 1607, and constituted the Jamestown settlement in the first few years. There is a large model of “James Fort” in the Visitor Center and a full scale reconstruction of it has been built in Festival Park above Glasshouse Point and adjacent to the Jamestown terminus of the Colonial Parkway.

In the words of William Strachey, recorder for the colony, the fort, as built in 1607, and standing in 1610, was “cast almost into the forme of a Triangle, and so Pallizadoed. The South side next the River ... by reason the advantage of the ground doth so require, contains one hundred and forty yards: the West and East sides a hundred onely. At every Angle or corner, where the lines meete, a Bulwarke or Watchtower is raised, and in each Bulwarke a peece of Ordnance or two well mounted. To every side, a proportioned distance from the Pallisado, is a setled streete of houses, that run along, so as each line of the Angle hath his streete. In the middest is a market place, a Store house, and a Corps du guard, as likewise a pretty Chappel ... [all] inclosed ... round with a Pallizado of Planckes and strong Posts, foure foote deepe in the ground, of yong Oakes, Walnuts, &c ... the principall Gate from the Towne, through the Pallizado, opens to the River ... at each Bulwarke there is a Gate likewise to goe forth, and at every Gate a Demi-Culverin and so in the Market Place....”

Just beyond the fort site, approximately 125 feet from the present seawall, at a point where it makes a pronounced turn to the right, is the _First Landing Site_ (9) which the colonists reached on May 13, 1607. Here the next day, all came ashore and landed supplies. This spot, like the fort site, is now in the river. The _Old Cypress_ (10), standing several hundred feet from the shore above the landing site, is said to have stood at one time on the edge of the island. This is visible evidence of the erosion that has taken at least 25 acres of the western part of the townsite.

Inshore, at this point, the _Memorial Cross_ (11) occupies a position of prominence. This marks the burial ground that extended along the ridge behind it. This is the earliest known burial ground at Jamestown and is thought to have preceded that around the church. It was along this ridge, first used as a cemetery, that Jamestown’s third statehouse (burned by Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., in 1676) was constructed. A decade later the fourth (and last) statehouse was built on the same site. It was the accidental burning of the last statehouse and the structures associated with it, in 1698, that was the immediate reason for moving the seat of government from Jamestown. This group of houses—the _Last Statehouse Group_ (12)—consisted of the last country house, three houses of Philip Ludwell, and the fourth statehouse. The foundations are marked and the footpath, leaving the concrete walkway, follows along these foundations and passes near the Memorial Cross.

The walkway now returns to the Church area. The path follows across a low area, known in the old days as the “Vale,” and into the Confederate earthwork. Here is the bronze relief memorial to _The Rev. Robert Hunt_ (13). He was the chaplain to the first settlers. On the third Sunday after Trinity, in June 1607, he administered the first recorded Holy Communion according to the rites of the Church of England.

The tour route emerges from the Confederate earthworks near the entrance to the church and passes again near the Smith, Pocahontas, and House of Burgesses markers and other memorials. Just beyond, the tour leaves the Association grounds (the west end of the site of old “James Towne”) and follows a walk close to the bank of the river. Beyond, stretches the eastern section of “James Towne.”