Jamestown & Yorktown

As I explained in my earlier post on Williamsburg, we spent last week in Virginia's Historic Triangle. This post will cover our outings to Jamestown and Yorktown. A later post will discuss Meg's archaeology camp at Jamestown. 

Jamestown and Yorktown are unusual in that there are two destinations at each location. In Jamestown, there is the actual location of the Jamestown settlement, which is now an archaeology site run by the National Parks Service. A short distance from the archaeology site is the recreated Jamestown Settlement. There is an extensive museum at this site as well as a rebuilt Powhatan village, a rebuilt fort and three reproduction ships. Similarly, at Yorktown the National Parks Service runs the battlefield site, while there is a separate American Revolution Museum a few miles away. NOTE: When purchasing your tickets, double-check the museums your tickets cover. Some tickets include the National Parks Service sites and others do not. 

We went to the recreated Jamestown Settlement with the intention of catching Anne's interest. The previous day in Williamsburg had been difficult for her. She was hot. She didn't want to walk. She wasn't sure what to make of the historical site. It was my suspicion that she might enjoy the recreated village and fort. What I didn't realize was how much she would enjoy the ships.

The main building at the Jamestown Settlement houses a huge museum. Admittedly we did not spend as much time in the museum as I would have liked. I knew that Anne would not be patient with walking through museum exhibits. I didn't want to lose her interest. We, however, did take the time to watch the introductory movie, which was excellent. It allowed the kids and the adults to have a better understanding of how the Jamestown colony came to be and the trials the early colonists faced. 

After the movie, we joined a tour to explore the recreated Powhatan village. We did not stay with the tour for long. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, but it was not always easy to hear what he was saying. Additionally, Anne and Clare had there own priorities of what they wanted to see. Again, my main concern was getting Anne on board with touring historical sites, so I let her go to whatever grabbed her interest. 

From the Powhatan village, we walked to the reconstructed ships. Anne loved the ships. She walked to every nook and cranny and learned about navigation from one of the historical interpreters. Her favorite ship, by far, was the ship that allowed us to go to the lower quarters. She was fascinated by the beds and never hesitated to make herself comfortable. 

Our final stop at the Jamestown settlement was the fort. The look of the fort is unusual because it appears Tudor-style, but with an orange-red color. Having been to the contrasting Plymouth, I was struck by how  evident the military aspect of Jamestown is. This was a colony that needed armor and weapons. That being said, the fort also included a lovely church. It is my understanding from Meg, that it was the church at the actual Jamestown site that allowed archaeologist to locate the remains of the fort. It was long believed the site had been lost to the water, but when they found the church, they knew the rest of the fort would have been located close to it. 

Our trip to Yorktown came much later in the week. We spent only a few minutes at the Yorktown battlefield site. Clare and Anne decided to recreate the battle as best as they could. They shouted lots of quotes from Liberty Kids. Anne came out with a line from the Star Spangled Banner: "But the flag was still there." (I didn't have the heart to tell her that was from the War of 1812.)

We don't have many pictures from the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The introductory movie was excellent. The Siege of Yorktown movie which came later in the museum, included special effects such as smoke and booming cannon sensations. The girls loved that film. Due to the heat, we didn't spend much time at the living history exhibits, which is unfortunate. The museum has both an encampment and a colonial farm. I thought the girls would love these, but walking into the heat was just too much for them. 

I highly recommend both Jamestown and Yorktown for family visits. The recreated Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown are probably the sites most suitable for kids, but if you are a true history fan, don't miss the National Parks Service sites.