tales from the Drivers' seat: Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg Virginia

The plan was to tell and show you with our pictures where 104 men and boys landed at Jamestown Virginia May 13 1607 and set up the first settlement that was later to be part of the United States of America. By 1609 there was close to 300 colonists in Jamestown. Then the winter of 1609-1610 came and when it was over, only 60 survivors remained, most dieing from starvation. The town was slow to grow on it's own until 1620 when 90 unmarried women arrived.

The town finally started to grow and prosper once they found out what a wonderful cash crop there was in tobacco, sending it back to England for a very good profit. The original settlement went into disrepair and finally found it's way back to nature. Several people in the last century tried to locate the original site but all decided that the river had taken it all, until 1994 when there was one last try in trying to locate it. A post hole was located and next to it was another and then another. Continuing to follow the trail of post holes, the outer perimeter of the original Jamestown fort was located. From there it was pretty easy to start excavation to locate all the treasurers that lay beneath the soil.

When Dick went to look over the pictures, to his dismay they were not there, lost to the delete key on the computer we think, so we won't be telling you about Jamestown in pictures, but will go to another period of history in our great Nation where we spent two days,

Colonial Williamsburg Virgina consists of over 300 acres of the town of Williamsburg that has either survived or been rebuilt to the late 18th century or at the time of the start of our desires to become an independent nation. It was time to cut our ties with England and the war that lasted over 7 years came about because the men here drafted and signed a document called 'The Declaration of Independence'.

The capitol building at the end of Duke of Gloucester Street has been rebuilt several times through the years.

From the web:
The first colony to speak for American independence, Virginia spoke with the unanimous voices of the gentlemen who gathered May 15, 1776, in the tall brick building that dominated the east end of Williamsburg. From what had been England's original New World possession, Virginia instructed its delegation at Philadelphia's Continental Congress to move the question of freedom. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence records the Continental Congress's answer.
The gentlemen at Williamsburg sat in the oldest representative assembly in what was now the world's newest nation. The legislature first met at Williamsburg on April 21, 1704, when the Capitol on Duke of Gloucester Street was still under construction. Literally and figuratively, however, its foundation dated to 1619, when the House of Burgesses first convened at Jamestown.

A little closer look

Walking the main street of Williamsburg one can see people in period dress who will reenact scenes from our history.

Shop keepers showing off their trades. Weaver...

If you get tired of walking just hitch a ride on a carriage.

Here is a scene in front of the baker's building, depicting people of the time of the revolution talking about what was happening. We loved the feeling of being right there!