Jamestown, VA 400 Years Later

For about the past week we have visited with family and friends in North Carolina and Virginia. On Monday, we had the opportunity to visit the Jamestown, VA historic site. Jamestown was the first lasting English settlement in North America, so it obviously has great historic significance for our country. Also, this happens to be the 400th anniversary of the settlement, so the folks there are making a big deal about it.

The actual Jamestown site is mostly trees today. We visited a Jamestown recreated settlement that is located close by. When we first entered the fort, my initial thought was, "This doesn't seem like any big deal." Then I remembered that it was a very small fort with few settlers in 1607. So, of course, it was no big deal. I cannot imagine how difficult their lives were 400 years ago.

The pictures you see here come from the recreated Jamestown fort, Native American village, and ships that the settlers arrived in. Our three kids (Caroline, Mary, and Bobby) are in different photos. The silly picture of me at the top of this post was taken in the recreated church pulpit inside the fort. We had a great deal of fun comparing the 1607 church building with the comfortable churches of today.