This is our second trip to this area of the country and we decided to visit Jamestowne Settlement and galleries. Our visit began with a short movie telling how the colonists came to this spot and also some of the history of the early days of the colony. From there we headed out to the villages. First we came to the Indian village where there were docents dressed as Indians explaining their way of life. We walked through the lodges seeing how they lived.

From there we walked a short distance to visit James Fort with it’s cannon emplacements, replica buildings, and “residents” who were happy to chat with us about life there. The guard house was where soldiers reported on arrival and got their armor, sword, musket and bandolier of gunpowder. The docent demonstrated how a musket was loaded and fired. Other buildings in the Fort included one for gunpowder, a storehouse with tobacco hanging in the rafters along with rope and barrels of provisions. The largest building was a church with bells, benches, a confessional, and altar in the front.

We continued on to the ships at dock that are replicas of the original ones that carried the people to Jamestowne. They were small considering how far they came and the number of people and supplies they brought. The docents talked about the ship and answered questions.

We also spent time looking through the very nice museum, learning more about the people who came to the New World. I enjoyed our visit to Jamestown Settlement and recommend it to all.