Homeschooling Last week we also had a chance to get to Jamestown Settlement. Jamestown was America’s first permanent English colony, established 405 years ago in 1607, sponsored by the Virginia Company of London. Jamestown Settlement gives vistors a taste of earliest colonial life in Virginia as well as life in a 17th century Powhatan village.
Driving into Jamestown we were greeted by the state flags (pictured below).
We had Bradley and Cameron sit on the Jamestown map after entering the settlement. The map shows the route 104 colonists took from England to Jamestown, taking nearly 5 months. The settlement was named for King James I.
Perhaps our favorite part of Jamestown was the Powhatan Village. We went in and out of many of the small huts. These were furnished the way the Paspahegh Indians might have furnished their huts 400 years ago.
Cameron loved carving out this log with a sea shell, something the natives would have done to create a canoe. One of the tour guides said there was evidence that some canoes could hold up to 50 Indians with their gear. This would have been a canoe for a small family.
One of the most interesting things we saw was how the natives would use small stones to skin and tear the meat from an an animal. Here two women (pictured below) gut a deer.
One of the ways meat is preserved is through smoking.
Cameron loved grinding corn.
Moving closer to James Fort we saw how the early settlers would prepare a hog.
We learned that in Jamestown every man was trained and expected to be a soldier. Each of the men took turns guarding the fort and all were expected to fight in the event of an attack. This building served as the town’s military headquarters.
Bradley and Cameron hoisted the very heavy armor on and modeled for us!
Bradley had been waiting anxiously to see replicas of the three ships the Jamestown settlers used to sail to the new world. As he prepared to visit this area, reading about these ships fascinated him. He was able to give us an education! Below are pictures of Bradley and Cameron exploring the Susan Constance, Discovery, and Godspeed.
We had a very fun and full day at Jamestown! This was Bradley’s favorite part of our trip. And as you can see below, our full day tuckered everyone out!
Awesome pictures, I wanna go. Thanks for sharing.
We had a great time! It was a wonderful family trip with lots to do. We could have easily spent another week in the area and not run out of things to explore and learn about.