Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown....the cradle of so much US history and only a short ferry ride (free!) across the James River from our campsite in Chippokes Plantation State Park!
Chippokes Plantation was established in 1617 by Captain William Powell of the Jamestown Settlement in the Virginia Colony. In 1967, the 1,700-acre plantation was donated to the Commonwealth by Mrs. Victor Stewart for use as a state park.
Today, local farmers lease out the land to grow wheat, corn, cotton, and millet. The Mansion, built in 1850, the Brick Kitchen, the River House, and the Farm are open for tours. Amazingly, most of the original furniture is still in place in the Mansion, just as the Stewarts left it. We enjoyed riding our trikes the mile and a half past fields, cows, horses, pigs, goats, old farm implements scattered over the plantation overlooking the James River, due south of the original Jamestown colony.
Taking the Jamestown/Scotland ferry every day to the north shore is an unusual experience with a bit of a carnival atmosphere to it, that is for us visitors. It's easy to pick out the newbies, what with their cameras taking pics of the sea gulls hanging out on the pilings, apparently posing for everyone. The locals stay in their cars and just sorta' roll their eyes at us in boredom. Isn't it odd how we get so oblivious to our daily surroundings?
The Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery were the three small ships that weathered a winter voyage in late 1606 and early 1607 to carry Captain John Smith and 104 men and boys to the Virginia Colony.
He selected the site for Jamestown (named for King James I) because it offered a deep-water harbor and because he wanted to stay out of sight of the Spanish to the south. What he didn't reckon on was the lack of fresh water and the swampy, bug-infested environs surrounding him. Within a year, the group had dwindled to 40 miserable souls.
Powhatan and his tribes were friendly at first, but after some misunderstandings, laid seige to the colonists and then came the 'Starving Time' when out of 500, 90% perished. John Rolfe discovered that a hybrid of native tobacco and Spansh tobacco produced a plant that was desirable and flourished. Thus tobacco became the cash crop of the Virginia Colony.
It wasn't long before Pocahontas, Powhatan's favorite daughter and John Rolfe married, had a son, Thomas, and returned to England, where the 'Princess of Virginia' became the toast of the town. After a short time in London, Pocahontas became ill with a respiratory condition. Was it the dampness, her vulnerable immune system, homesickness? Within a year, she had died at the age of 21.
Jamestown had a spate of bad luck and hardships: famine, drought, disease, rebellions, arson, Indian attacks, all contributing to it being abandoned by 1698 for nearby and more desirable Willamsburg.
Today, archeological digs continue, having unearthed over 2 million artifacts, many on display in the Voohees Archaearium Museum. John Smith's assessment that the site would prove 'A verie fit place for the erecting of a great cittie.' never came to pass.
Williamsburg, once the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, was by 1926 in a state of utter neglect and deterioration. At the urging of Reverend W.A.R. Goodwin, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., invested $10,000 to begin restoration of the colonial town in order to celebrate the patriots and early history of the United States, ultimately contributing over $200 million (around $2 billion in today's dollars) to preserve this gem of a colonial city.
Many of the missing Colonial structures were reconstructed on their original sites during the 1930s. While others were restored to 18th-century appearances. The most impressive buildings are the Capitol and the Governor's Palace, each re-created and landscaped as to what is known of their late 18th-century condition, as well as Bruton Parish Church and the Raleigh Tavern.
Yorktown, the beginning of the end for the American Revolution, is perched high on a bluff overlooking the deep port on the York River.
During the Siege of Yorktown, October, 1781, it endured eight grueling days of constant bombardment by the French & American armies and was almost totally destroyed. It is a miracle that there are any homes that survived the Revolution and the Civil War.
This Historic Triangle is steeped in so much history, with excellent visitors centers, museums, films, tours, reenactments, driving tours...one week cannot even begin to scratch the surface. The National Park Rangers have been knowledgable, informative and often quite hilarious. Our favorite guide had to be Lee, 'a gal's gotta' do what a gal's gotta' do' coffee cup Lee. What a great job that would be!
Cornwallis, Washington, Rochambeau, LaFayette, Von Steuben, Clinton, LeGrasse names that echo throughout the area.
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