You can stand on the ground where America’s first English settlers built their fort

It’s the real fort, not a replica

Jamestown Island sits along the James River in Virginia, and this is where it all began.

On May 14, 1607, 104 English men and boys stepped off three ships and built a fort that would become the first permanent English settlement in North America. You can walk that exact ground today.

Not a recreation. Not a museum replica.

The real thing. Captain John Smith stood here.

So did Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Give yourself at least two or three hours, though half a day disappears faster than you’d think.

Three ships and a very rough first few years

The Virginia Company of London put up the money, and the settlers crossed the Atlantic aboard the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery.

They barely had time to build their triangular fort before conflicts with the Powhatan people began. Then came drought, disease, and the winter of 1609-1610, a stretch so brutal it’s known as the Starving Time.

Only about 60 of the colonists survived.

The settlement pulled through when John Rolfe introduced tobacco as an export, and the rest started to fall into place.

1619 was a year that changed everything

Two events in 1619 would echo across American history for centuries.

The first representative legislative assembly in English North America met right here at Jamestown on July 30 of that year, planting a seed that would eventually grow into American democracy.

And that same year, the first Africans arrived in mainland English North America, brought forcibly to Virginia after English privateers seized them from a Portuguese slave ship.

A single year, and two chapters of the American story began at this island.

The fort that history said was lost forever

For a long time, experts believed the original James Fort had eroded into the James River and was gone for good. Then in 1994, archaeologist William Kelso launched the Jamestown Rediscovery project and started digging.

Within three seasons, the team had proof: most of the fort was still on dry land, buried near the 17th-century church tower.

A Confederate earthwork built during the Civil War had actually covered the site and protected it. The project was planned for 10 years.

It’s still going.

Watch archaeologists dig up 1607 in real time

On weekday digs, weather permitting, you can walk up and watch the Jamestown Rediscovery team work.

They’re pulling history out of the ground right in front of you, and they’ll answer your questions about what they find.

Since 1994, the project has recovered more than four million artifacts: coins, armor, tobacco pipes, ceramics, food remains, tools, and personal items from settlers who lived here 400 years ago.

The team has also uncovered buildings, wells, graves, and stretches of the original palisade walls.

The museum built right on top of the fort

The Voorhees Archaearium holds more than 4,000 artifacts recovered from the James Fort site, all from the 1607 to 1624 period of the Virginia Company.

You can see a 400-year-old writing slate still covered in words and drawings, tobacco pipes stamped with the names of powerful English figures, and the largest collection of Colonial-period American Indian artifacts in Virginia.

Large windows look out over the James River and the surrounding dig sites. Exhibits update regularly as new discoveries come in, so even a second visit can surprise you.

Step inside the only standing 17th-century structure

The brick church tower near the site’s center dates to at least 1639, making it the only above-ground structure from 17th-century Jamestown still standing.

The 1907 Memorial Church built against it lets you look down through glass panels in the floor at the brick and cobblestone foundations of earlier churches beneath your feet.

One of those foundations belonged to the 1617 church where the first colonial assembly met on July 30, 1619.

Plaques on the interior walls name the people who shaped what happened here, including Smith, Pocahontas and Rolfe.

Two statues worth stopping for on the grounds

The Pocahontas statue on the grounds draws a steady stream of visitors, and her hands have turned bright copper from generations of people holding them while posing for photos.

The site itself acknowledges that her clothing in the sculpture reflects Plains Indian dress more than Powhatan tradition, a historical inaccuracy that adds an interesting layer to the stop.

Nearby, a larger-than-life bronze of Captain John Smith looks out toward the James River from within the original fort area. The 103-foot obelisk erected in 1907 is where most walking tours start.

See glass blown the same way it was done in 1608

Just off the island, a reconstructed Glasshouse lets you watch artisans shape molten glass by hand.

Glassmaking was one of America’s first English industries, started in 1608 when German and Polish craftsmen arrived with a second wave of colonists.

The Virginia Company hoped the region’s sand, silica, and wood would support a glass trade that could replace expensive imports from Europe.

Conflict with the Powhatan people and the Starving Time cut that plan short, but archaeologists found the original furnace ruins in 1948.

The Glasshouse is open daily from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is included with your park entrance fee.

The story of Angela and America’s first Africans

In late August 1619, a group of Africans arrived in Virginia, taken by force from the Ndongo Kingdom in what is now Angola and carried to English shores after English privateers seized them from a Portuguese slave ship.

A woman named Angela showed up in a 1625 colony-wide census, living in the Jamestown household of Captain William Pierce.

Between 2017 and 2019, archaeologists excavated Pierce’s property to learn more about her life there.

It’s considered the only known accessible site directly connected to a documented early African resident of English America.

Drive or walk the island loop through living history

A paved loop of three to five miles winds through the marshes and dense woods of Jamestown Island. The landscape hasn’t changed much since the colonists arrived.

Bald eagles live here year-round, and you’ll share the road with deer, herons, turtles, and wild turkeys. At Black Point on the island’s eastern tip, a short path opens onto a wide view of the James River.

In spring, the road closes to vehicles for a few weeks to protect nesting turtles, but you can still walk or ride a bike through.

A dig that keeps rewriting the history books

In 2010, archaeologists found the remains of the fort’s first two churches.

In 2013, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the team confirmed evidence of survival cannibalism during the Starving Time.

In 2015, the remains of four early colonial leaders were identified within the church site. As of 2026, excavations continue north of the Memorial Church and across the Smithfield area.

The team is also running DNA analysis to identify remains from church graves. Every season of digging turns up something that changes the story.

Visit Historic Jamestowne in Virginia

Historic Jamestowne sits at 1368 Colonial Parkway on Jamestown Island, about 2.5 miles southwest of Colonial Williamsburg.

Two organizations run different parts of the site, so you’ll need tickets from both: the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia. General admission runs $15 per adult for each portion.

Children 15 and under are free for the NPS section. Children ages 6 to 15 pay $5 for the Preservation Virginia portion.

National Park pass holders get reduced admission on the NPS side.

As of early 2026, some pathways near the fort and Archaearium have temporary detours for a construction project, and the waterfront Dale House Cafe is closed for renovations.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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