Category: Jamestowne

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Captain John Smith, Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestowne, National Society of Colonial Dames of America

The 1907 Memorial Church – A Structure Built To Honor The 300 Year Anniversity Of The First Permanent English Settlement At Jamestown Island

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1893, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, which is currently known as Preservation Virginia, purchased 22.5 acres of land within Jamestown Island, the land where Captain John Smith had utilized to establish the first permanent English settlement of “Jamestowne”. The association worked diligently to prepare for the upcoming 300 year anniversity of Jamestown.

The National Society of Colonial Dames of America contracted Boston architects Edmund Wheelwright and Ralph Adams Cram to create a replica of the Jamestown Church where the Virginia General House of Burgesses first met on July 30th, 1619. The church was modeled after St. Luke’s Church in Smithfield, Virginia and used bricks from two historical buildings located within Hampton, Virginia. In 1907, National Society of Colonial Dames of America donated the church to Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and had the building placed on top of the original church building site.

A statue to Captain John Smith, who became the first governor of Virginia, was erected yards away from the enterance of the 1907 Memorial Church.

Commonwealth Of Virginia, Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestowne, Newfoundland Settlement, Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Humphrey Gilbert

Newfoundland Settlement – The Founding Settlement Of The Commonwealth Of Virginia

Hamilton Historical Records

Captain John Smith’s map of Virginia.

In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert founded Newfoundland, under a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I, within what would become the Commonwealth of Virginia. I would argue, unlike most historians, that while the settlement of Newfoundland failed, 1583 should be designated as the founding of the Colony of Virginia, rather than the date of 1607 for the establishment of Jamestown, because it was the first attempt to colonize that area by the British.

Portrait of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

After the English Civil War of the 1500s, members of the Colony of Virginia were deemed to be loyal emigrants of Britain, according to King Charles II, hence granting the Colony the name “The Old Dominion”.

Discovery, Godspeed, Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestowne, Susan Constant

The Replicas Of The Ships: Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery

Hamilton Historical Records

Jamestowne, Virginia hosts the replicas of the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery within the area of the former Jamestowne settlement.

The U.S. National Park Service has an explanation for what probably happened to the remains of the three original ships.

Author’s Note:

In 2011, author Philip Hamilton visited the three replica ships.

Ambler Mansion, Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestowne

The Ambler Mansion Of Jamestowne

Hamilton Historical Records

Photograph taken of the Ambler Mansion during the U.S. Civil War.

In the 1750s, the Ambler family built the Ambler Mansion, which was actually a Homestead, within old town Jamestowne, Virginia. Many of the Ambler family members were politicians and other prominent members of the community during colonial times.

During the U.S. Civil War, Allen moved into the Ambler Mansion to oversee the defense of Jamestowne Island. According to the National Park Service, “In 1861 Confederates initially regarded [Jametowne Island] as the best defensive point along the James River for defending Richmond, the South’s capital and industrial center.”

During the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Civil War and in 1895 the Amber Mansion caught on fire. After the third fire that the building endured, David Bullock, the owner at the time, decided to not rebuilt the home.

Presently, the remains of the Amber Mansion are managed by the U.S. National Park Service.

Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestowne, The Jamestowne Colony

Jamestowne – The First Permanent English Settlement In North America

Hamilton Historical Records

In 1606, English settlers, from the Virginia Company, began their journey to North America. In 1607, the English settlers arrived to the banks of the James River to form Jamestowne, which was also known as the Jamestowne Colony.

Captain John Smith and the settlers built a fort in an area that became known as “Old Towne”. The fort was constructed to protect the settlers from members of the 30 different Powhatan tribes, some of which expressed hostility to the settlers.

I’m the 1900s, Congress designated the lands within Jamestowne as a U.S. National Park.