Explore Jamestown Settlement

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Founder’s District. All opinions are 100% mine.

We are blessed to live on the East Coast where we are surrounded by history. If you’re planning a trip to the East Coast, you’re going to want to make sure you visit The Founder’s District to experience Jamestown Settlement.

The boys and I have a week-long trip planned for this summer with my sister and niece. There is so much to see and do in the area.

Where is Jamestown Settlement?

Jamestown Settlement is located between State Route 31 and the Colonial Parkway; adjacent to Colonial National Historical Park, which encompasses Historic Jamestowne, and six miles from Williamsburg.

What is there to do at Jamestown Settlement?

Every member of your family will find something to do at Jamestown Settlement!

At Jamestown Settlement, a living-history museum of America’s first permanent English colony founded in 1607, history is recounted through film, indoor gallery exhibits, and outdoor living history.

Gallery exhibits inside the museum include artifact-filled cases, dioramas, and short films.

Head outdoors to the re-created Paspahegh town to learn the Powhatan way of life: how to grow and prepare food, process animal hides, build dugout canoes, make tools and pottery, and weave plant fibers into cordage.

Take the path to the James River pier where re-creations of the three ships that transported the Jamestown colonists to Virginia in 1607 are docked. You can board and explore the ships to learn about the 144-day voyage from England, and take part in periodic demonstrations of piloting and navigation, knot-tying, and sail-handling.

You can also explore the re-created fort at Jamestown Settlement, including daily demonstrations of matchlock musket firing, see a blacksmith at work in a forge, and take part with interpreters to cultivate crops, prepare meals, and repair tools the 17th-century way.

Jamestown Settlement Hours and Admission

Jamestown Settlement is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round, except for New Year’s and Christmas. Living-history areas are open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For 2021, Admission is $18.00 for adults, $9.00 for ages 6-12, and free for children under 6. Be sure to check out the combination ticket with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown to save if doing both.

What else is there to do in the Founder’s District?

The Founder’s District includes 8 recreational, historic/cultural, or natural sites and trails in James City, York, and Surry counties along the James River in Virginia.

Jamestown Settlement

James City County Marina (kayak and canoe)

Jamestown Island & Historic Jamestowne

Jamestown-Scotland Ferry

Colonial Parkway (between Jamestown and Yorktown)

Hog Island Wildlife Management Area

Chippokes Plantation State Park

Captain John Smith Chesapeake Historic Trail