Before 1776: Rediscovering America’s first chapter at Jamestown
The article highlights Virginia’s Historic Triangle, emphasizing its significance in American history.As the nation approaches its 250th birthday, the focus is on Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, established over 400 years ago. Visitors learn about the challenging voyage of the early settlers, who traveled approximately 144 days across the ocean in small ships to establish the colony. Ancient interpreter Leon explains the importance of understanding the early years prior to the American Revolution to grasp the full story of the nation’s origins.
The site features reconstructed settlements, including replicas of 17th-century ships like the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Finding, offering immersive experiences such as musket demonstrations and blacksmithing. Archaeologists continue to uncover artifacts like trash dumps and Chinese porcelain, shedding light on daily life and global trade connections of the early colonists. Visitors, including those named John Smith, celebrate this rich history by exploring Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg, leading up to Independence Day celebrations in Washington, D.C. The exhibit “Following the Dragon” displays Chinese porcelain artifacts, highlighting the colonial ties to international trade. the article underscores the deep historical roots of the American story present in Virginia’s Historic triangle.
For America’s 250th birthday, the Washington Examiner is taking you to Virginia’s Historic Triangle, where the story of our nation began. From the Jamestown settlement, the first permanent English colony in America; to the Yorktown battlefield, where the fight for independence was won; to Williamsburg, where America’s founding principles were debated and shaped. Step back in time to explore the places and events that forged our nation.
JAMESTOWN, Virginia — As Washington, D.C., prepares to mark America’s 250th birthday and celebrate where the nation is today, another, older anniversary is quietly unfolding on the banks of the James River. The Washington Examiner visited Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. It’s a story that began more than a century and a half before the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence.
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Historical interpreter, Leon, spends his days helping visitors bridge that gap in time. Dressed in period-appropriate attire, he stands atop replica 17th-century ships modeled on the original Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. He explains that while the nation is celebrating 250 years, Jamestown is marking closer to 419 years of history.
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“People need to get the full story,” Leon says. “There’s as much time between this voyage and the Revolution as there is between the Revolution and World War II. A lot went before 1776 that needs to be understood to put the Revolution in context.”
Those early years begin with a brutal ocean crossing. The first English settlers’ journey to Jamestown took about 144 days, just shy of five months. At the time, colonists traveled to the New World deliberately on small ships to navigate the rivers inland.
“The charter of 1606 tells them to get between 50 and 100 miles inland and upriver,” Leon explains. “To do that, you have to bring small ships. Crossing the ocean is only one job. Another is scouting out where a settlement can be.”
Visitors can step off the pier and into a recreated Jamestown settlement, complete with musket demonstrations, tobacco hanging from the ceilings, chickens wandering the yard, and a working blacksmith who creates all the nails and other metal works for replica structures on site.
Among the visitors were John Smith and his wife, who recently relocated to nearby Yorktown. Smith said he couldn’t think of a more fitting place to spend America’s monumental birthday than Virginia’s Historical Triangle, especially since he shares a name with one of its most famous figures.
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“We’re interested in history, and we’re new to the area,” Smith said. “There’s so much history that happened here. And, coincidentally, my name is John Smith—and he’s pretty well known around here too.”
Smith and his wife plan to visit Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg before making their way up to Washington, D.C., for the 4th of July celebrations.
Just a mile down the road from the reconstructed fort, archaeologists are at work on the original Jamestown site, giving visitors a front-row seat to history being uncovered in real time. When the Washington Examiner visited on June 30, archaeologists were working to uncover a trash dump near the water. Archaeologists were excited to find pieces that could help historians better understand the diet, plants, and technology used in that time.
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One of their most intriguing finds is now part of an exhibit running specially for America’s 250th. Following the Dragon: Chinese Ming Porcelain in Early Jamestown displays Chinese porcelain excavated from the original settlement site. The delicate shards featured in this exhibit reveal the goods colonists valued and how this early English outpost was plugged into the wider world of international trade.
While the exhibit only runs until July 12, visitors can still explore the grounds of Jamestown and connect with the history that built a nation long after America’s 250th birthday.
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