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Home , Jamestown Island, John Pott

The Old Church Tower at Jamestown

VIRGINIA

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE COOPERATING WITH THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ANTIQUITIES been disabled by an explosion of gun- In 1614, , the daughter of powder, marked the beginning of the ter- the Indian Chieftain , married JAMESTOWN rible "Starving Time," when nine-tenths John Rolfe, bringing 8 years of peace with of the colonists died. Discouragement was the Indians. Two years later, in 1616, she Birthplace of the Nation so great that the survivors planned to desert went to England and was presented to the Colony. It was only the timely arrival the Court of James I as Lady Rebecca. of the newly appointed governor, Lord She died in England in 1617, leaving a Delaware, with fresh men and supplies, son, Thomas Rolfe, who later came to UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT that actually prevented the abandonment Virginia and left many descendants. OF THE INTERIOR of Virginia. The year 1619 was truly a momentous OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Secretary Gradually, Jamestown took on a look one for the Colony. Maids arrived from NATIONAL PARK SERVICE of permanence, and plantations spread up England to become wives of the settlers and down the rivers. By 1614, the settle- and to join with those of their sex already Newton B. Drury, Director ment could boast of streets and houses and in Virginia. In this year, too, the first Cooperating with the Association for the could well be called a town. Negroes were brought to the Colony. Preservation of Virginia Antiquities The efficient, yet necessarily stern, gov- More signifiCimt still was the meeting of ernment of Sir did much to the House of Burgesses, which convened At Jamestown, site of thefirst permanent English settlement in America {1607},first representative legis- stabilize the Colony, particularly through in the church at Jamestown in what was lative assembly in the New World {1619}, and Virginia Capital {1607-99}, many of our most cherished his assignment of private holdings and his the first representative legislative assembly traditions 0/ freedom were born. rigid enforcement of a stringent discipli- in the New World. nary code of laws. About 1610-1 I, experi- In the year 1622, there was a sudden The first permanent settlement in Amer- ment, intent upon the realization of Ral- mentation in tobacco culture, ably ad- uprising of the Indians which resulted in ica by the English was proof of their de- eigh's dream of a great English nation vanced by John Rolfe, proved successful. wholesale destruction of life and property. termination to establish themselves in the beyond the seas. This established the economic basis on Jamestown, warned through the friendly New World. The defeat of Spanish sea which the Colony became prosperous. Indian, Chanco, escaped the massacre, power by the English during the reign of Seventeenth Century Jamestown Queen Elizabeth had paved the way for Statue of Captain . English colonization of America. Enter- The story of Jamestown began on May prising Britons had already established 13, 1607, when the first Virginia colonists, their influence in India, the Near East, after several months of voyaging out of and Russia. Sir Walter Raleigh had made England and a brief stay on Cape Henry, several unsuccessful attempts to establish sailed up the James River and selected an enduring settlement along the Carolina Jamestown Island, then a peninsula, as a coast at Roanoke Island-a' movement place for settlement. They disembarked now commemorated by Fort Raleigh from their three small ships, the Susan National Historic Site, a unit of the Na- Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discov- tional Park System. It remained for the ery, on the following day. Virginia was Virginia Company of London, under its a pleasant land, but its ways were strange charter of April 10, 1606, to found the to Englishmen, and the first years at James- first permanent English settlement in town were trying ones-a continual strug- America. gle against sickness, hunger, and inexperi- Jamestown is the site of this settlement. ence, in addition to the disadvantages of The first settlers landed in May 1607, built its unhealthful location. houses and a fort, planted crops, and be- Within a few months Captain John gan the struggle for the conquest of the Smith became the dominant personality continent. They brought with them their at Jamestown. His vigorous leadership Church and respect for God. They estab- did much to keep the Colony together lished homes, maintained trial by jury and during its first two and one-half years. His their rights as free men, and soon they departure for England in October 1609, were developing representative govern- seemingly under duress and after he had though for a time the whole life of the was replaced, and Jamestown was par- Colony was threatened. Partly as a result tially rebuilt; but the town had suffered a of these events, the Virginia Company of blow from which it never quite recovered. London, which had directed the affairs of The burning of the statehouse in 16g8 the settlement since its founding, was dis- brought the end. The seat of government solved, and Virginia became a royal colony was moved to Williamsburg in 16gg, and, in 1624. before many years had passed, Jamestown The Virginians, though as yet loyal to was practically abandoned. The town the British sovereign, were increasingly ceased to exist about the time of the conscious of their strength and jealous of American Revolution. At about this their rights. Under the administration of time, too, the isthmus connecting James- Sir William Berkeley, popular feeling town to the mainland was washed out, against personal government mounted for making it a true island. a time to the pitch of open rebellion as a result of his high-handed acts, and of T he Jamestown Archeological Project Indian depredations on the frontier. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, the younger, With the exception of the Old Church emerged as the popular reader in a revolt Tower, there are today no remains above which brought hostilities to Jamestown and ground at Jamestown that date from the momentarily drove Berkeley from power. seventeenth century. Underground, how- Bacon's men burned the town, believing it ever, there is a wealth of information to be the "stronghold of oppression." regarding the life of that period. To con- . Bacon soon died, and the rebellion duct the work of archeological investiga- Typical objects recovered from Jamestown excavations. collapsed, leaving, however, an undying tion the Jamestown Archeological Project spirit of resistance to tyranny. Berkeley was set up by the National Park Service in Ig34. The work of the project is not by purchase or gift, the sites of such continuous, but when actually in progress buildings and tombs with a view to their Seventeenth century housefoundation, the excavations are open for visitors to see. perpetual preservation."

The Association for the Preservation Points of Interest at Jamestown of Virginia Antiquities The principal area of the. town of In 1893, the Association for the Preser- Jamestown, which grew out of the settle- vation of Virginia Antiquities acquired ment in 1607, was along the James River title to 22;12 acres of land on Jamestown on both sides of, and including, the pres- Island. This area was slightly reduced in ent highway and parking area. It was I g07 when the Association donated to the approximately three-fourths of a mile long United States the tract on which the Ter- and extended from the river back to the centenary Monument was built. The salty marsh, called Pitch and Tar Swamp. Association's holdings now consist of 22 At first there was only the fort. Then as acres and include the Old Church Tower. the town grew there were houses, a church, In 1940, the Association area at James- a market place, shops, storehouses, state- town was designated by the Secretary of houses, and other public buildings along the Interior as Jamestown National His- regularly laid out streets and ways. This toric Site. was the capital oofVirginia until 16gg. The Association, often referred to as the The first landing site, which the col- APV A, was chartered in 188g. The ob- onists reached on May 13, 1607, and jectives for which the organization was where, the next day, they landed supplies, formed, and for which it continues to func- has been fixed by tradition as a point now tion, are "to restore and preserve the in the river approximately 125 feet from ancient historic buildings and the tombs the present sea wall, almost directly out in the State of Virginia, and to acquire, from the Old Church Tower. The first fort, triangular in shape, by tradition was nal streets. The walk traverses the area of Church Tower, built in 1861. This is one located in front of the Tower and likewise "New Towne" where Jamestown expand- of several such fortifications on the Island. on land that has been washed away by the ed about 1620. In "New Towne" lived In the NPS Exhibit Rooms, there are J ames River. many of the principal figures of early Vir- illustrated panels giving the history of The ivy-covered Old Church Tower, ginia. The Country House, the founda- Jamestown in abbreviated form and dis- within the APV A Grounds, is the only tions of which have been located, was used plays of objects which have been recovered standing ruin of the seventeenth century by the governor as his residence. In it [rom the ground and which were used by town of Jamestown. It is believed to have lived Governors Sir , Sir early Jamestown residents. In the APVA been constructed as a part of the first , and Sir . Relic House (a combined exhibit room, brick church, begun in 1639. The walls In this section were the residences of Rich- souvenir shop, and rest house), displays of handmade brick, 3 feet thick, laid in ard Kemp, builder of the first recorded include objects which were recovered in English bond, have been standing for more brick house in Virginia; Dr. John Pott and excavations at the Church, in the Church- than 300 years. The Memorial Church, William Pierce, leaders in "the thrusting yard, and around the last Statehouse adjoining the Tower, was erected in 1907 out" of Gov. John Harvey in 1635; and of group, as well as the Pocahontas earrings. by the Colonial Dames of America over William Sherwood, an attorney general the foundations of this early brick church. for the Colony. Here have been excavated How To Reach Jamestown Within the building are burials, memo- the foundations of the house of Henry rials, and the foundations of an earlier Hartwell, one of the founders of the Col- Jamestown Island is easily accessible church said to have housed the first repre- lege of William and Mary. from Williamsburg over Virginia Highway Near the river the foundations of the sentative legislative assembly in America 3 I and from Richmond by Virginia High- First Brick Statehouse of Virginia have which convened on July 30, 1619. In the way 5. The approach from the south is Churchyard countless dead are buried and been discovered. Here, during the early over Virginia Highways 10 and 3 I to the the few remaining gravestones are witness governorship of Sir William Berkeley, were ferry across the James at Scotland. The to the antiquity of the spot. These carry discussed the measures needful for the gov- ferry docks at the Island. Sightseeing tour Tercentenary Monument at Jamestown. the names of Berkeley, Blair, Harrison, ernrnent of the growing colony. Here, too, buses operate from Williamsburg, the Ludwell, Beverley, Lee, and others. the Colony submitted to the government Administration nearest rail and bus terminal. Northwest of the Church area, still with- of the Commonwealth of England in 1652, The , now connecting in the APV A Grounds, is a group of exca- and Richard Bennett, chosen by the As- Jamestown Island, except Jamestown vated foundations of buildings of impor- sembly, succeeded Berkeley as governor. Yorktown and Williamsburg, will eventu- National Historic Site, is in Colonial Na- tance in the later years of the town of In the immediate vicinity of the parking ally be completed to Jamestown. tional Historical Park. The park also in- Jamestown. These include the Last State- area is the T ercentenary Monument erect- cludes Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial house, the Last Country House, and three ed by the United States in 1907 to com- Service to the Public Parkway, and Cape Henry Memorial. It houses of Philip Ludwell. The Lone Cy- memorate the 300th anniversary of the is a part of the National Park System owned by the people of the United States press Tree standing in the water several settlement. Built of New Hampshire gran- The town site of Jamestown is open to and administered for them by the National hundred feet from the shore can be seen ite, it rises 103 feet above its base. Other visitors daily, including Sunday. One ad- Park Service of the United States Depart- from these foundations. This tree once monuments and memorials, all of which mission charge of 40 cents, including Fed- stood on the Island and is visible evidence are within the APV A Grounds, include ment of the Interior. Jamestown National eral tax, gives access to the National Park Historic Site is administered by the Asso- of the erosion that has taken at least 25 the Captain John Smith Statue designed Service area and the grounds of the Asso- acres of the northern portion of the town by William Couper; the Pocahontas Mon- ciation for the Preservation of Virginia ciation for the Preservation of Virginia, Antiquities. A cooperative agreement be- site. Through the efforts of the Associa- ument, by William Ordway Partridge; the Antiquities, both of which are approached tion for the Preservation of Virginia An- House of Burgesses Monument, listing the tween the Association and the Department from the central parking area. All school tiquities, the United States, in' 1900-01, members of the first representative legisla- of the Interior has been in effect since 1940 students 18 years of age and under, when built a concrete sea wall to check further tive body in the New World; and the Me- providing for a unified program of devel- in groups, and all children under 12 are damage. Col. Samuel H. Yonge, author morial to the Reverend , who opment for the whole Jamestown Island admi tted without charge; however, those of The Site of Old "James Towne," was in June 1607, on the third Sunday after area. between 12 and 18 must pay the Federal the engineer in charge. This sea wall and Trinity, administered at Jamestown the The' Island, made up of marsh and dry the rip rap extension later provided by the first Holy Communion according to the tax. Organizations and groups are given land almost evenly divided, includes special service if arrangements are made National Park Service now protect the rites of the Church of England. 1,559.5 acres. in advance. Island from further erosion. The ruined walls of the Jaquelin-Ambler All inquiries relating to the National From the NPS (National Park Service) House stand as testimony of the late co- Literature and information are availa- Park Service area should be addressed to Exhibit Rooms, adjacent to the parking lonial period when Jamestown Island ble in the NPS Exhibit Rooms and at the the Superintendent, Colonial National His- area, it is possible to walk over the eastern ceased to be the location of a town and APV A Gate House where tickets are on torical Park, Box 548, Yorktown, Va. sale. ' portion of the town site' following the became the estate of two families-Ambler Those relating to the Association for Preser- courses of "Back-Streete," "the high way and Travis. A reminder of a later period No eating or lodging facilities are avail- vation of Virginia Antiquities should be ad- close to the river," and others of the origi- is the Confederate Fort, near the Old able at Jamestown. dressed to the Association, Jamestown, Va. ~ (1) "0 ..• ~ 7b old Isl-hmus ..s•·. '-'-'--'--'--'-- ~ illlli.. >Illi.. &. •__•__•__•__.__•__• so U1 I ~ ~ o ;;-._":.> '"«'-; ---< ••• u•,••. --_._------., . '" old Cyprese T' ee . ". ~ a -.-- , "' " ~ - &:' ""- - "'-'.' '. "" ,- h 0- '<'" ••••••• '" •••••••••••• ,lli. .•. <:'> "". / '-'" I ~~ ...... r:». -. " -.... " ." ~\\ . "W \\ "2':''~ \\\~B3:~;eY"""ya....""'"...,'" ••••••• "" - :::._~-.., -, ""__C"t _ ... ~__~ , 1.!1J!//J'./l. _ '=" _-s. FoundahonsHof e.\~'<;: •.•. _ •• _-_ •.••••• .' Rose ON .oRT" "-; '-l: / ._.: &I';'.' ~ ..••• ".." ""- .0.•=..• "''.;...""-/_-,.' """, ~'d . " "=>AT' "rr'~ "... " ""._ ke' .. "='~0. 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'" 0 0 <" GUIDE MAP OF 3l m o ~ z 0r !~~.lyrlnedit-ch '" g ~M.>~-/ l:~WI!ot"~~,~, ~~~~->'", I C,>" ..J SITE OF OLDLAND'~AMES, VIRGINIATOWNE" / ~~~~ ~ h / ~ JAMESTOWN IS i(I ~z z SCAL~ . " ~ o FEET 500 g NHP.-COL.7005 REVISED JULY 1946 BYJ.J:S.