ByLanderseaAmerica250 – Post 2

The story of America doesn’t begin with July 4, 1776. It starts earlier, much earlier. My previous blog post addressed the site of the first settlement on Roanoke Island, NC. This time we are deep in the swamplands of Virginia, where 104 men and boys stepped ashore in 1607 and built a wooden fort. That place was Jamestown.

Unlike the doomed Lost Colony of Roanoke, Jamestown endured. Barely. Sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, the settlers came in search of profit: gold, silk, and trade. Instead, they met disease, starvation, and tension with the powerful Powhatan Confederacy.

I found the route they took surprising, so share it here: The three ships that carried the first group of settlers to Jamestown in 1607—Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery—departed from London on December 20, 1606, under the command of Captain Christopher Newport. They sailed down the Thames, paused at Blackwall for final preparations, then headed to sea. After leaving England, they stopped at the Downs (an anchorage off the Kent coast), continued via the Canary Islands and the Caribbean, and sighted land at Cape Henry on April 26, 1607. The party chose Jamestown Island for their fort on May 14, 1607.

Captain John Smith

Captain John Smith quickly emerged as one of Jamestown’s most effective leaders. Amid food shortages, disease, and constant strain with Powhatan towns, he enforced a strict “he who does not work, shall not eat” policy that helped keep the colony alive. Smith is also remembered for his encounters with the Powhatan people, especially the famous story of his dramatic rescue by Chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas. Many historians believe the episode was a ritual or later embellished, but what matters for Jamestown’s survival is that Smith negotiated for corn, mapped the rivers, and kept dialogue open. {Smith leaves Virginia in late 1609 after a gunpowder accident, and the colony soon spiraled into the Starving Time.)

The Virginia Company packed the next wave in 1608 with skilled specialists—refiners, apothecaries, a jeweler, a blacksmith, a gunner, even a perfumer—hoping that industries such as glassmaking, metalworking, and naval storeswould make Virginia a worthwhile investment. Within days, the fort burned, but the colony now had craftspeople to rebuild.

Another supply followed in autumn 1608 (aboard Mary and Margaret), bringing roughly 70 newcomers, including the first two English women, Mistress Forrest and her maid Anne Burras, whose marriage to carpenter John Laydon became Jamestown’s first wedding. This convoy also delivered eight German/Polish “glasse-men,” the nucleus of America’s first English industrial trial at the Jamestown glasshouse.

The big push, the Third Supply, left in June 1609: nine ships with 500–600 people and ample livestock and gear. The flagship Sea Venture wrecked on Bermuda, splitting the fleet; the colonists who did reach Virginia entered into the Starving Time of 1609–1610, when only about 60 of some 500 survived. The Bermuda castaways (over 100) finally reached Jamestown in May 1610, found the scene “lamentable,” and started to evacuate until Lord De La Warr arrived on June 10, 1610. He brought supplies and reinforcements and ordered everyone back to work. Relief deepened with the planting of tobacco by John Rolfe, which became Virginia’s cash crop.

Recovery continued in 1611, when Sir Thomas Dale landed with about 300 soldiers, cattle, and provisions. Dale expanded beyond the fort, founding Henricus (now Henricus Historical Park in Chester, VA) and pushed farming and discipline that finally stabilized the population.

A few years later, Pocahontas, baptized as Rebecca while living among the English, married tobacco planter John Rolfe on April 1614 at Jamestown, likely officiated by Rev. Richard Bucke. Their union ushered in several years of relative calm often called the Peace of Pocahontas.

Jamestown Rediscovery

For decades, historians believed that the 1607 English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, lay underwater in the James River. In 1994, under the leadership of Dr. William Kelso of the Jamestown Rediscovery project, an archeological dig was launched in hopes of locating the assumed lost fort. Within three archeological seasons, Kelso and his team uncovered enough evidence to prove the remains of James Fort existed on dry land. Better yet, the search led them near the remains of the 17th-century church tower and to the graves of four founders.

This discovery became exciting news about America’s birthplace and renewed interest in the Jamestown story. Today, visitors to Jamestown Settlement begin their experience at the high-tech visitor center. I was immediately impressed with the museum’s size, scope, and elaborate state-of-the-art interactive displays. A 4-D film provides an overview of Jamestown’s beginnings. Depending on your interest, you’ll need a minimum of 30 minutes, while those wanting to learn more could spend several hours.

After you tour the museum, head outside to see the recreated Paspahegh town or Powhatan Indian Village. This area reflects the typical daily life of the Virginia tribe. Within the wooded clearing, see reed-covered houses dotted with cooking circles, a dugout canoe, and a ceremonial circle. Learn about the culture of the Indigenous people from costumed interpreters. Personalities like Captain John Smith, John Rolfe, Powhatan, and Pocahontas lived here.

The Indian reserve leads down to the river’s edge, where docked replicas of the ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery await. Take the time to go aboard and imagine how the original 104 voyagers spent their cramped days and nights aboard the small vessels.

Another walkway leads to the reconstructed triangular-shaped James Fort, which encloses multiple wooden buildings and offers more costumed interpreters. Life within the fort wasn’t easy, but here, free, enslaved, and indentured people mixed during their struggles with early colonization.

To complete your tour, visitors must drive a short distance to Jamestowne Island, a National Park Historic landmark and site of exciting ongoing archeological digs. There, you’ll find an outline of the original fort, a statue of John Smith near the shoreline, and likely working archeologists. The Archaearium Museum showcases relics from the 1607-1624 Virginia Company period.

You’ll also see the site of the original 1608 church, named one of 2010’s 10 most significant archaeological discoveries in the world by Archaeology Magazine. The church was where Chief Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas married John Rolfe on April 5, 1614.

In 1619, the church was the site of an important and historic series of meetings: those of the first elected legislative body in America, the House of Burgesses in the Virginia General Assembly. Tragically, that same year marked the arrival of the first enslaved Africans—ushering in a legacy of inequality that would shape the nation’s future.

Unfortunately, the church burned during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676. Repairs were made, and the church continued to serve until approximately 1750.

Today, the site includes the remains of the 17th-century tower. While ten feet of its height and the original nave were lost, preservation groups stepped in. They erected a new church for the settlement’s 300th anniversary with glass panels to see the original foundations.

When you visit Jamestown, you witness the triumphs and contradictions of America’s beginnings, where ideals of liberty stood alongside forced labor, and survival came through adaptation and grit.

Do You Know: Captain John Smith (1580–1631)

Captain John Smith was an English soldier, explorer, and author whose leadership proved crucial to the survival of Jamestown. Born in Lincolnshire, England, Smith led an adventurous life as a soldier of fortune across Europe and the Near East before joining the Virginia Company’s 1606 expedition to the New World.

Arriving in 1607, Smith quickly emerged as one of Jamestown’s most effective leaders. Amid food shortages, disease, and tense relations with Indigenous peoples, he enforced a strict “he who does not work, shall not eat” policy that helped sustain the struggling colony. Smith is also remembered for his interactions with the Powhatan Confederacy, particularly the story—likely embellished—of his dramatic rescue by Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas.

In 1608–1609, Smith undertook extensive mapping of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers, producing detailed charts that guided future explorers and settlers. Injured in a gunpowder accident in 1609, he returned to England but continued to promote colonization through his writings, which offered vivid descriptions of the New World and its peoples.

Smith’s blend of disciplined leadership, exploration, and self-promotion made him a central figure in the early history of Virginia and the broader English colonial enterprise. His legacy endures in American folklore, maps, and the ongoing story of Jamestown.

Do You Know? – Pocahontas

Most visitors associate Jamestown with Pocahontas, but the real story is richer and more complex than the legend. Born Amonute and later called Matoaka, she was the daughter of Wahunsenacawh (Chief Powhatan). In 1607–08, she was about 10–12 years old and sometimes visited the English fort, bringing food and messages. The famous “rescue” of Captain John Smith may have been a symbolic ritual rather than a literal life-saving act.

Pocahontas later married John Rolfe, a colonist who pioneered tobacco cultivation, and converted to Christianity as Rebecca Rolfe. In 1616 she traveled to England as a symbol of the Powhatan–English alliance, where she met King James I and Queen Anne. She died in 1617 at Gravesend, England around age 21.

Her life bridges two worlds and remains a powerful story of cultural encounter and transformation at the beginning of English America.

Trivia Tidbit – Pocahontas & First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson

First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson (1872–1961), the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson, traced her family lineage back to Pocahontas. Through her father’s side, she was a direct descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe’s son, Thomas Rolfe. This connection made Edith one of several prominent Virginians who proudly claimed Powhatan heritage and gave a First Lady of the United States a living tie to Jamestown’s most famous figure.

You can learn more about Edith Bolling Wilson at her Museum in her hometown of Wytheville, Virginia. I found this unexpected connection totally fascinating. Goodness! You never know what you will learn through your travels.

Arrival Guide: Visiting Jamestown

Getting There
Jamestown sits on the banks of the James River, just south of Williamsburg, Virginia. Visitors typically drive in via the Colonial Parkway, a scenic, tree-lined route connecting Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Jamestown. It’s about an hour from Richmond and roughly 2½ hours from Washington, D.C.

Two Distinct Experiences

Jamestown is actually two complementary sites:

Historic Jamestowne (National Park Service/Preservation Virginia)
This is the actual location of the 1607 English fort. You can talk with park rangers, see ongoing archaeology at the original fort site, the church tower, artifacts at the Archaearium, and the glasshouse.

Jamestown Settlement (Virginia’s Museum of 17th-Century Virginia
Located nearby, this living history museum offers full-scale re-creations of the James Fort, Powhatan Indian village, and the three ships that brought the settlers—the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. Costumed interpreters bring early 17th-century Virginia to life.
Both sites are worth visiting for a complete picture of Jamestown’s story. You can do them in one long day, but two days allows a more relaxed pace.

Parking: Both sites offer free parking lots close to the entrance.

Hours & Admission
• Historic Jamestowne: Open daily, generally 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (check seasonal hours). Requires both a National Park Service entrance fee and a Preservation Virginia ticket, usually bundled at the gate.
• Jamestown Settlement: Open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. with a separate admission fee. Discounts often available for combo tickets with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown,

Insider Tips
• Combo Ticket: If you plan to see both sites (highly recommended), check for combination passes to save money.
• Talk to the Archaeologists: At Historic Jamestowne, interpreters and archaeologists often share their latest finds right on the dig site.
• Allow Time for the Glasshouse: The working glassblowing demonstration at Historic Jamestowne shows a trade practiced by colonists as early as 1608.
• Photography: Morning or late afternoon light is ideal for capturing the reconstructed ships and fort palisades.