Colonial National Historic Park

Given the choice of anything to do on a sunny summer day, rolling a hoop down the road with a stick wouldn’t be my top choice. But there was something about the Colonial Williamsburg commercials I saw as a kid that made it look so fun! Finally now, about 20 years later, I decided to take myself to Williamsburg to see just why those kids were having so much fun. I drug along my parents and my grandma for the adventure too.

Colonial National Historic Park

I didn’t realize that Williamsburg is in the middle of Colonial National Historic Park which also includes Historic Jamestowne and the battlefield of Yorktown. Since Jamestowne is truly the beginning of Colonial America, we began our adventure there.

Historic Jamestowne

104 colonists anchored in the James River on May 13, 1607. They would go on to establish the colony of Virginia with no small thanks due to Capt. John Smith.

The first surprising fact I learned is that Jamestowne is an island bordered on one side by the James River and by a swamp on the other. This made it an easier position to defend- there was no sneaking up on the boys of Jamestowne, they could always see the enemy coming.

The second surprising fact that I learned was that Pocahontas didn’t marry John Smith; in fact she probably viewed him as a father figure and instead married John Rolfe. I’m pretty sure I knew that at one time, but I let Disney get the best of me.

The church tower behind John Smith has been standing since 1686!

Glassblowing with nearly 400 year old recipes and techniques

The National Park Service and an organization called Preservation Virginia co-manage Historic Jamestowne. In the past 20 years, these two groups have launched an extensive archeological exploration of the area. We were able to get a tour by an archeologist who explained not only what was going on, but what they’ve learned and how they discovered it. Just days after we were there a huge announcement was made about the identities of four skeletons found back in 2010. It’s amazing what science can do!

Under this wooden grid is a recently unearthed brick oven.

Yorktown

After Jamestowne we drove the length of the Colonial Parkway to Yorktown; home of the last major battle of the American Revolution in 1781. 17,000 troops, some of which marched from New York, gathered in Williamsburg, and marched on to Yorktown. With the help of the French they took two key redoubts, or temporary forts, late one night and history changed forever.

About a week later British General Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender. When news of the surrender reached the British Prime Minister Lord North he said, “Oh God. It is all over.” He was basically correct, but the Treaty of Paris granting American independence wouldn’t be signed for another 2 years.

The next day we ventured to Virginia’s second capital (after Jamestowne), Williamsburg.

Find out how I saved $150 on this trip in my post A Penny Saved…