In the beginning, all America was Virginia, wrote William Byrd II in 1728. And all Virginia, in the beginning, was but a mosquito-infested splotch of wetland encircled by the capricious James River. Here on this 600-hectare islet, 105 men and boys came ashore in 1607 at the behest of King James I’s Virginia Company – named for the “virgin queen”, Elizabeth I – and established the country’s first successful English colony.
For centuries, their fort’s remnants lay buried beneath silt washed in on the floods. Then, in 1994, on-site archaeologists realised they were digging up the country’s past. The unearthed relics – foundations, artefacts, human skeletons – are preserved in the Historic Jamestowne museum.
Catherine MarshallTravel writerCatherine Marshall has worked as a journalist for more than three decades and has received awards for her travel writing and reportage in Australia and abroad. She specialises in emerging destinations, conservation and immersive travel. Connect with Catherine on Twitter.
