Day Trip into History

Typical building framing and cannon placement at Jamestown on the James River settled in 1607. The fort's walls
would have extended out into the James River by 50 or so ft.  Over 400 years, the river has migrated east
to its present position.  (click to enlarge)

Over the weekend we entertained some lifelong friends.  It turned out that they had never been to to the historic Jamestown site near Williamsburg, Virginia. Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in North America.  The settlers arrived in May of 1607 and named the settlement after King James I of England.

Statue of Pocahontas (click to enlarge)

Unfortunately, the colonists arrived during the middle of a 7-year severe drought and many of them died from starvation.  I believe about 300 arrived and only 60 survived.  Not only did their food run out, but they started eating their leather belts, leather shoes, dogs, horses and even the bodies of their deceased colleagues. I could go on and on about the reason for Jamestown's eventual success and, in turn, the American colonies, first built around the growing and export back to England of Tobacco; their relationship with the Native Americans (American Indians), etc., but if you are truly interested, there is a lot more information available on the National Park Service's website.  The link is below.

Living near that location, I had visited several times, but I find history fascinating as well as important, so I suggested we drive to the Jamestown so our friends could see for themselves where the birth of English North America began.

"Jane"  This is the skull and forensically reconstructed head and face of a woman to which the archaeologists

gave the name Jane. Jane was a common name at the time she lived. She was probably a maid servant..

The sad thing is, if you can see them, four longitudinal knife marks in the front of her forehead; indications of

stripping away the flesh for cannibalistic reasons. (click to enlarge)

Here  is a web page with "Jane's" story.

To me, history is important as, among other things, history helps us understand how we got to where we are today, puts things in context, helps provide an identity to us and teaches us lessons to either repeat or avoid.

Remnants of 18th century brick
church (click to enlarge)

Sunday was a picture perfect day.  Temperatures in the upper 60s F (about 20 C), low humidity, some nice radiant heat from the sun and a pleasant breeze.  Great for visiting an outdoor venue.

If you are in the United States, or will visit the east coast of the United States, you may want to visit as well.  The archaeological finds that have been made are absolutely fascinating.  They have two permanent exhibits of thousands of objects, including skeletons, weapons, coins, jewelry, pipes and about everything else colonists would need to live out their daily lives.  Here is the main NPS website to get more information on what you can find at Jamestown.

I made a very few images and have included some just to give you an idea of what you can see at this historic location.  All images made with my Fujifilm X-T1 using the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens.  Details of each exposure are available if you comment and ask.  I will respond with more information for you.

Inside of 17th century brick church.  There are graves
in the floor in the front of the church
(click to enlarge)

Reconstruction of the fort walls in the location at which they originally stood (click to enlarge)

Four graves were discovered inside the walls of the location of the original church the colonists built in 1607-08.
The interesting thing about these graves is the location of the deceased's heads were alternated in opposite
directions.  I don't remember ever seeing that anywhere before.  The walls show how buildings were constructed
at the time, framing covered with a adobe-like mud..  (click to enlarge)

Knowing where you came from and how we arrived at today is not only very interesting, but important for us to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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