Jamestown Settlement gives you a chance to watch metal objects being forged and repaired. (Larry Vaught Photo)
History is something I’ve always appreciated and enjoyed. So that should make it easy to understand why Jamestown Settlement which tells the story of 17th-century Virginia was a spot I wanted to spend time during my trip to Greater Williamsburg.
Again, we were blessed with terrific mid-December weather on our visit — and that was especially nice since you can spend so much time outside with the re-created fort, ships and Powhatan Indian village.
The films inside the museum were informative and the exhibits could I have kept me busy for hours. But there’s just something about believing you are walking through history and that’s the feel you get thanks in large part to the costumed historical interpreters throughout the park.
I loved seeing the turkey being cooked on an open camp fire as well as a opossum pelt being prepared for future use. I was even allowed to touch the pelt before it was put over a flame to smoke.
Inside the fort at Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony, you got a taste of every day life, including a matchlock musket demonstration — and everyone knows I love watching a musket being fired — and information on how the colonists had to use strategy as well as the guns to protect themselves.
My wife was most impressed the Christmas greenery inside the fort as well as a chance to see what a prepared Christmas feast in the early 1600’s would have been like at the two cooking demonstrations daily.
Perhaps my favorite demonstration was in the blacksmith’s forge when I watched a hinge being made and all the time/effort that went into it. Seeing the heat of the fire being used to forge and repair metal objects that are used at Yorktown and Jamestown mesmerized me.
Okay, the kid in me did come out a bit when I got to try on the armor from that time. The helmets were heavy and the breastplates were as well even though we were told a round from one of the muskets could penetrate the armor. Still, it was a step back in time just to have a chance to put on the armor and image what it must have been like.
I spent a lot time aboard the re-creations of three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607. You can climb aboard all three — and park visitors of all ages do to learn more about the nearly five-month voyage from England to Virginia. You get a sense of what shipboard life was like for those sailing from England and how little space each passenger had or how the “English gentlemen” passengers actually knew more about defending the ship than the sailors because of their prior military experience.
You will also be surprised by the food at the Jamestown Settlement Cafe. Again, the Brunswick Stew was my favorite but there were plenty of options to get you ready for a three- to four-hour adventure. We also spent about another 90 minutes at Historic Jamestown, which is only a five-minute drive away.
Jamestown Settlement — like the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown — is open year round except for Christmas and New Year’s.
If you are looking for a fun day, give Jamestown Settlement a try. I’m already planning on coming back with my grandchildren just so I can see the smiles on their faces like I did so many youngsters here and at Yorktown’s American Revolution Museum.
