Sunday afternoon we decided to try to find Jamestowne! It turned out that the National Park system was letting visitors in free for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, so we all got to see the historic site and museums for free!
Brian and Boo at the entrance!
Crossing the footbridge to the "island" (it was really a peninsula with swamp land dividing the two sections)
Joshua was fascinated by the settlement! We told him we will come back later in the year so he can read all the information signs and not freeze to death!
The monument for the first European settlers!
The kids at the base of the monument.
The area is so beautiful! The James River borders the property. The river has washed away approximately 25 acres of land since 1607, so much of the original settlement may have been located on land that is now underwater!
Leah and Pocahontas!
The fort was constructed in a triangular shape with the sides being 100 feet by 100 feet by 140 feet! 104 men and boys lived in those close quarters for the winter. No wonder tempers started to flare!
This is still an active archeological dig site, so in the summer you can see where the historians are excavating! They have found 1,000's of artifacts and quite a few skeletons. There is usually a real skeleton in the museum, but the Smithsonian has it on loan right now. So we saw a replica of the skeleton. Scientists have also used technology to make facial reconstructions of the corpse and then make a wax replica of the person's face! It was interesting to have a visual reinforcement of the idea that they were people and looked similar to how we do today!
Jenny and Boo in the first Protestant church in America (at least a replica of it)
The barracks - about 50-60 men lived in this hut.
Here is the Captain John Smith statue overlooking the James River!
