Wednesday, March 26, 2008

ABC Wednesday, The letter J


It is time once again for ABC Wednesday Just click on the link to join us or to see other post with the letter J.


And keeping with the theme I want to tell you about one of my favorite places to visit. JAMESTOWN VIRGINIA


Last year my husband and I took a day trip to Historic Jamestown, Virginia. A couple of years ago we went to Jamestown Settlement but I had not been to the historic area since my kids were young and my husband had never been. (Historic Jamestown and Jamestown Settlement are two different places located next to each other)

2007 marked the 400th anniversary celebration. I knew I wanted to visit, but did not want to get caught up with all the tourist. Since my hubby and I both had a day off in the middle of the week, we decided it would be a great time to go. We had a wonderful day walking around.

Although most people think that Jamestown was the first place that the English landed at, it was actually in Virginia Beach at a place now known as Cape Henry and April 26th, 2007 was the 400th anniversary of that landing.

"Here, on the windswept sands, led by their chaplain Reverend Robert Hunt, the colonists must have knelt in prayer giving thanks for this new land and their safe voyage. Now they were ready to follow the company's instructions and push deeper into Virginia and seek a suitable site for settlement."

On May 13th 1607, the group landed in a new site and named it Jamestown in honor of their King, James the 1st and it became the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Join me as we tour Jamestown Virginia and be sure and click on each photo to enlarge them for the full effect


Our first stop was at the Glass House




We were able to view the




Men were there making things just like they did in the orginial house.



There is even a area where you can buy what they make.


From there we drove a short distance to the entrance.

Where you can see the orginial fort


From there we walked around the old church

Inside you can view the orginial bricks. They are kept in glass to preserve them

Outside is a cemetary where some of the orginial settlers are buried


While walking around viewing these graves I felt an overwhelming sadness.
Did you know that only 60 of the original 214 settlers at Jamestown survived.
Amoung those who survived was a man named John Dods. He is listed on the orginial list of settlers and also can be found on the 1624 Census. This name is important to me because he is a direct bloodline to my children, and grandchildren. My ex husband has done extensive research on his side of the family to document this. It was exciting to walk on land that he once walked.
Since Jamestown was established on the banks of the James River


And surrounded by swamps



People had to dig wells





As we passed some of the ruins of the old houses



I couldn't help but wonder what life must have been like. It wasn't until around 1608 that women arrived and families were formed.
Plantations were also established





Trading was done with the local Indians like Pocahontas


and after many years of hard work, our nation was established!

We arrived on a day when ABC News was there doing a document for the 400th anniversary.

We got there just in time to see some of the interviews that were going on.


Jamestown is located on the banks of the beautiful James River and you can tell that one of the camera men was enjoying the day.

We were lucky enough to witness some of the excavations of a new area. They were not sure at the time of the photos if they were digging an old well, but old wells are where most of the artifacts of that time period have been found. They did know that they had found something and we got to watch! It is very delicate work to sift through the layers of dirt in hopes of finding a piece from the original settlement.







First the dirt was put into buckets where it was tagged


Then they are taken to a special area where it is placed a little bit at a time on a screen and washed.



If they find something it is set aside
Depending on what they find some pieces will be taken to another area and cleaned again then later placed in the museum here on the island.

As you can see from the following photos, several pieces of old pottery were found. Just look at that beautiful shade of green. It is hard to imagine this piece is probably 400 years old.

Can you see the tiny beads in the tray? They would have been used for trading with the Indians in the area.

There are some old nails there too. Do you see the bone?

Just take a look at this.

It is an old lock from a ship..What a great find!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed viewing my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them for you. It was a fun day that I will remmeber for a long time. I know everything in the photos did not start with a J, but you can find them all in JAMESTOWN. And don't forget stop by ABC Wednesday. She does not have Mr. Linky this week but if you follow the comments you should be able to visit everyone.

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27 Comments:

Blogger DeeMom said...

We honeymooned on the James River, a friend had a cabin, NO running water, NO indoor plumbing…but the fishing was awesome

The marriage is working on year 37 ;)

March 25, 2008 at 10:39 PM  
Blogger Andrea said...

Wow, what a long interesting post. Great "J" choice.

March 26, 2008 at 12:20 AM  
Blogger FO - 2 said...

Interesting and informative J. :)

March 26, 2008 at 3:29 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Very good and interesting ABC post.

March 26, 2008 at 4:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A wonderfully entertaining and educational post. It made we want to pack up the car and rive to Jamestown.... seriously!

Im glad you ahd such a great time!

March 26, 2008 at 7:01 AM  
Blogger dot said...

Very interesting J post with really nice pictures.

March 26, 2008 at 9:17 AM  
Blogger ellen b. said...

Wow what a wonderful tour you gave us. Smart to go in the middle of the week!!

March 26, 2008 at 10:18 AM  
Blogger Michele said...

Cool... I had a tour of Jamestown without leaving my chair... I really enjoyed that... thank you!

March 26, 2008 at 10:23 AM  
Blogger mrsnesbitt said...

How wonderful and diverse. It is indeed what ABC Wednesday is all about.
Thank you for taking such time & effort.
Much appreciated.

Dxx

March 26, 2008 at 10:29 AM  
Blogger Anne-Berit said...

This was great,thank you so much for an interresting tour:o)

March 26, 2008 at 10:35 AM  
Blogger Rune Eide said...

Thank you for an interesting historical tour!

PS To tell you the truth - I don't miss the tyranny of Mr. Linky!

March 26, 2008 at 11:13 AM  
Blogger Jan said...

I've always wanted to go to Jamestown, and now I feel like I've been there. I'll still go one day. This is a great J post.

March 26, 2008 at 11:30 AM  
Blogger Silly Goose said...

That was quite the tour, Patty! Thanks!

March 26, 2008 at 1:15 PM  
Blogger Berit T said...

WOW That was is interesting!! I will like to be there...

March 26, 2008 at 1:48 PM  
Blogger Dragonstar said...

That's wonderful! I love learning all these things. Great that your family has such clear links to the past.

March 26, 2008 at 3:05 PM  
Blogger Paulie said...

What an interesting city history! I had the chance to travel many states when I was 19 with my parents and little sis but we only went to Norfork where my Mom's family lived. Thanks for sharing your great entry for J!

March 26, 2008 at 3:13 PM  
Blogger Lilli & Nevada said...

What a great journey you took me on, one day i hope to visit there.

March 26, 2008 at 3:24 PM  
Blogger Pernille said...

Interesting and very good J. Nice photos too:)

March 26, 2008 at 4:02 PM  
Blogger Jo's-D-Eyes said...

hey Patty,
What an intereseting place this Jamestown, very very intersting I love to look at you photography and written text hanks for showing!

Greeting from ABC's 'J' JoAnn :)

March 26, 2008 at 4:37 PM  
Blogger Barbara said...

Thanks for a long interesting post, how wonderful you are related to John Dods one of the original settlers.

March 26, 2008 at 5:40 PM  
Blogger Leslie: said...

What a fantastic post and commentary. I'd love to visit there! :D

March 26, 2008 at 5:43 PM  
Blogger Gordon said...

Thank you for such a comprehensive tour of Jamestown; very interesting.

March 26, 2008 at 7:17 PM  
Blogger Katney said...

That was an extensive and fascinating tour of Jamestown. My ancestors were in Plymouth. One was even kicked out.

March 26, 2008 at 10:25 PM  
Blogger Neva said...

A lot of information! thanks for sharing!

March 27, 2008 at 1:48 AM  
Blogger hpy said...

THat must have been a very interesting visit!

March 27, 2008 at 3:22 AM  
Blogger Nydia said...

Wow!! That was a perfect History class, Autumn! :) Loved the way you shared these info, and theplace looks amazing. Great choice.
Thanks for stopping at my place and commenting on my J post. Kisses from Nydia!!

March 27, 2008 at 1:17 PM  
Blogger VP said...

Just great Autumn - thanks for the tour and the history!

March 28, 2008 at 5:31 PM  

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