Jamestown Settlement and Surry County

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

It's Official!  We are homeless.  Not really, we have our home on wheels (haRVey III) and home is wherever we are.  Closed on the house on Eastford Place late this afternoon.  Yeah!  Closing was a long time coming.

Leave this morning following the signs and not the maps of the area as yesterday we had a problem with the map and the roadway not seeming to be in sync.  Leaving I-64 we followd signs leading us to the Colonial Parkway which links Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown via a 23 mile scenic highway along the James and York Rivers.  Today we are visiting Jamestown and another day will take this scenic road to Williamsburg and Yorktown.

There are two Jamestown sights, one is the archaeology site (excavation continues here) and the other is the Settlement which is the living history museum close to the original site.  We opted for the Settlement since it had the most to offer in terms of learning and things to see.   The Settlement is along the James River and in a beautiful setting which was established in 1957.  The exhibit building is a long structure offering a theater, gift shop and exhibits of 17th century artifacts.

Our first stop was at the theater to view an introductory firm "1607:  A Nation Takes Root" where we learn about the establishment of the Virginia Company, who and why the English came here and what the settlers lives were like once they arrived.  It was a group of 104 English men and boys who set sail for a 5 month trip to the banks of the James River to form a settlement.  Their goal was to make a profit from the resources in the New World which never materialized as it was all they could do to survive.

Leaving the building, we walk down the pathway toward the first of the living history areas -the Powhatan Indian Village.  The Powhatan Indians were the ones living in this area at the time the English first arrived.  The Village consists of homes and outdoor activity displays.

Further down the walkway and next to the river are full size replicas of the Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant, the ships that brought the English here.   Costumed interpreters offer information about life aboard the ships.

The last living history area is the James Fort which includes buildings made of wattle and daub (Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of  wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw.) and include a church, governor's house, storehouse and an armory.  

Next to the Jamestown Settlement is the highway which leads to the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry which was established in 1925 and takes cars, bikes, and people across the James River to Surry County.  We get in line and are soon aboard the Ferry and heading across.   It is a about a 20 minute ride and the ride is free.  Standing in front we watch as we head across seeing Jamestown fade away and the wharf on the other side coming in to view.

Surry County was once considered an extension of the Jamestown colony and is very rural with small town charm.  We have only a short time to spend here as we are due back to our campground in two hours for our house closing so we drive to the city of Surry taking in the Courthouse and other buildings in town

 and stopping along the way at Smith's Fort, a Plantation and Fort.  The Fort was built by Captain John Smith in 1609. The house was built on land that was given to John Rolfe by Chief Powhatan when Rolfe married the Chief's daughter, Pocahontas.  The road to the Fort was listed as hazardous so we did not venture further on to see it. 

 Return to the Ferry dock to return back to Jamestown.  A fun ride.

Return back to the campground via another road taking in more of the countryside here.