Where It All Began

The year was 1607. In a race to conquer the American Continent, the British, Spaniards, and French had sent explorers to claim the land. In 1607, King James III of England sent a capital venture group led by John Smith. They arrived on the Eastern shores of Virginia. Their mission was to create a settlement where the resources of this land could be harvested and converted to trades and exports. In other words, how could this company of men become rich.

The group consisted of 104 men and boys. They explored several locations along the James River to settle but finally selected a small island and named the settlement Jamestown after their king. Here they created their own House of Burgess and began to make laws to live by. This was the beginning and the birth of our form of government today. This was the first original permanent English Colony.

For the next 100 years, the settlers faced the challenges of a untamed wilderness. By the end of the first year, half of the 104 men and boys were still alive. Diseases, starvation, and Indian attacks were a common theme.


Well the rest is as they say, history in the making. John Smith meets Pocahontas, John Rolfe learns to grow tobacco and exports it to England. Around 1699, they determined that the settlement was not the best suited location due to the swamp and they hence moved to now Williamsburg, VA.










I had to make sure and get a picture of the princess Pocahontas for my granddaughters. I can now sit down with them and tell the real story of Pocahantos and the her contributions to our country's history. She was a great lady.



While at Jamestown make sure that you take the 5 mile drive around the island and see what the island is like. Yes, it is swamping, but beautiful.

If you ever get the chance take the time to go to the original Jamestown Settlement and check out the archeological digs. This was a great tour and we learned lots about the settlement and what we are doing today to preserve this glimpse back into history.

This was a great site to visit and I found it most enjoyable.