The Wide, Majestic James

Bank of James River at Historic Jamestown

Jamestown conjured all sorts of colonial images. Students learn the Jamestown story early in every American history class. From Disney cartoons to Terence Malick films, the Jamestown story has been told and reinterpreted in myriad forms. The first permanent English colony in North American spent centuries unattended and forgotten. But no one can argue with the beauty of the site. The James runs wide in colonial country, not far from where its waters feed Chesapeake Bay.

Following Delmarva to its narrow southern point and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, we emerged in the sprawl of Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads region. As soon as the development faded, we traded the interstate for the more bucolic Colonial Parkway, the direct path to Jamestown.

Near the Jamestown colony site sits the Jamestown Settlement, a reconstruction of the colony, an Indian village and the colonists’ ships. The actual site of the colony held more more sway with us than a reproduction. Our trips revolve on history, not attractions with a dose of Disney schmaltz. I only say that because I could smell the deep-fried food as we passed. The Jamestown Historical Site preserves the original colony location. A marsh-circled island once connected to the mainland by an isthmus.

Reconstructed ruins at Jamestown

The decision to locate a colony on poor ground with an unreliable supply of good water becomes easier to understand on the James’ banks – the site is downright beautiful. The river runs wide and thick forests start at its banks. Occasionally ferries churned slowly in the waters, but it was otherwise placid.

Can you tell I like this river?

Despite its importance in English colonialism, Jamestown’s past lies underground because it had been ignored for so long. Largely abandoned by the late 17th century, the site sat in disrepair for centuries. Other than ceremonies marking key anniversaries, its buildings toppled or weathered away. By the early 20th century, only the 1639 church tower remained above ground. The ruins that dot the site are reconstructions of the actual ruins excavated below.

Researchers that uncovered them found the remnants too fragile for exposure to the elements, so they reburied them and went with replicas. Those replicas provide a nice indication of how the colonists plotted out Jamestown in the 17th century. Dirt paths lead through the grassy plots, many of which can be identified as houses and businesses critical to Jamestown’s early success.

Inside the fort boundaries, some re-creations of the original wood structure gave perspective on what the first wave of colonists would have faced. At the time, Indian villages dotted the James and other nearby waterways.

An archaeological dig looked for evidence of what buildings sat beyond its palisades of the original 1607 fort. Recent searches have significantly broadened knowledge of Jamestown's history.

Original Jamestown fort home reconstruction

Jamestown Rediscovery continues to work on the site, changing what we know about Jamestown. Started in 1994, Jamestown Rediscovery found the original 1607 fort site, which was though lost beneath the James’ waters. Due to erosion and widening of the river, one corner of the triangle-shaped original fort lies underwater. But a floodwall built in the early 20th century has protected the site from further degradation. More recently, the digs uncovered the colony’s second church, where Pocahontas and John Rolfe were married.

Jamestown church's original tower

Along with the fascinating relics of colonial times, Jamestown has its share of monuments. An obelisk celebrates the Jamestown colony’s 300th anniversary. There were the obligatory statues of John Smith and Pocahontas. Other statues and shrines honored the religious history of the site.

The graves in the old cemetery had taken a beating through the centuries. Before modern restorations, trees had sprouted through the markers. In the 1907 church, excavations revealed the masonry of a previous church on the same site. The 1907 was a reconstruction of the 1639 church that incorporated the surviving tower.

Touring Jamestown brought our trip full circle, since its namesake river runs through most of the state's regions.

Sunset west of Richmond

The last gasp of vacation came the next morning at Lexington, one county east of the James’ headwaters near Iron Gate. Thanks to two colleges (Virginia Military Institute and Washington & Lee University) and a vibrant downtown, the streets hummed with pedestrians.

We took lunch at the Sheridan Livery Inn’s columned porch. A little breeze filtered through on this crispy, sunny Blue Ridge morning. Opened in 1887 as a horse-drawn carriage service, the building became a hotel in the 1990s. While we ate, horse-drawn carriages roamed the hilly blocks.

Lexington carriages

With 500 miles of crowded highway to go, the unhurried clop of horseshoes on the pavement as we had a fine meal hit just the right notes. We closed out Lexington by sharing a sampler tray from Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company, an award-winning brewery. We didn't imbibe enough for a buzz the brewery's 4-Point and 8-Point IPAs left hoppy tastes in our mouths for a few hundred of those miles.

John Smith statue facing the James River.