A Thanksgiving at Jamestowne

 November 2025

Me aboard Godspeed

     A happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you enjoyed your turkey as much as I enjoyed mine. Having relatives in Virginia, I take a trip there every Thanksgiving for a week of much merry-making and overeating. It’s spectacular! Surprisingly, the number of times I have stayed in Virginia, not once have I explored the amount of rich history museums and old buildings. I mean, if there ever is a state to explore living-history, it has got to be Virginia (which makes it my favorite U.S. state). I have taken a liking to American history in recent years, and the period which fascinates me most is the early colonial years, and we all know how that begins.

In 1606, 105 men and boys set sail from the docks the London for a land called Virginia to establish England’s first ever colony (forget about Roanoke). 

“And it shall be called, Jamestowne!” declared the Virginia Company, honoring England’s reigning monarch, James I. 

I had researched Jamestown months prior to arriving at Jamestown Settlement, a huge living-history museum. The first thing that struck me about Jamestown Settlement (aside from the absurd amount of elementary schoolers) was the massive parking lot, which, after careful study, was not part of the original 1607 colony. To this day, the exact location where the settlers parked their cars remains a mystery. We may never know.

Indoors, not only do they have an excellent gift shop selling a portable writing desk complete with quills, ink and ink blotter, but they have a huge exhibit full of facts and stories of the colonists, including historical artifacts. However, the exciting bit was outside.

The settlement has a full-scale replica Powhatan village, where I wandered in and out of the reed huts. I learned how to make a sewing needle out of animal bone, and how to cook venison on an open fire. The village sits beneath the sweetest-smelling Virginia pine trees, something I look forward to every time I visit the state.

Awkward photo

Next was the English fort. I was happy to see Tudor-style homes and a surprising amount of armor, some of which I got to adorn myself with. I am fairly certain I looked rather dashing as a knight. There was a musket demonstration, where an old gentleman in period clothing stood upon a stage and shot gunpowder out of the longest firearm I have ever clasped my eyes upon. He showed everyone how to take a very quick 40 seconds to load a bullet and how to aim and fire. I feel far more confident in my self-defence abilities now that I know how to handle 17th-century weaponry. 

Tudor-Style Home

And now for the best part: the replica ships. When I arrived at the port, I sadly only saw two docked ships, Godspeed and Discovery. “But where is the Susan Constant, the largest and loveliest of the three Jamestown ships?” I asked in a panic, both to myself and then to a reenactor. “She’s being repaired at the moment. Won’t be here today,” was the response I got. While te sight I was looking forward to most was not there, both Godspeed and Discovery were lovely to board and explore below deck. 

Back inside, there was a twenty-minute informational film playing. After a long day of exploration, I sat back in the soft seat and watched “VIRGINIA, 1607” flash before me on the screen. Almost immediately, the room erupted with laughter and roars of about a hundred elementary schoolers squealing “Six-Seven! Six-Seven!” This made me sink in my seat in utter defeat. 

Now, why do I write this? Well, Thanksgiving is upon us (or past us by the time we get this published). A distressing part of Jamestown’s history is its “starving time.” During the winter of 1609-1610, Jamestown nearly perished for lack of food, resorting to the settlers eating their shoes and worse. This makes the 1621 Thanksgiving feast at Plymouth Colony a remarkable triumph. But did you know that the actual “first Thanksgiving” was not at Plymouth 1621? It is called the Berkeley Hundred Thanksgiving, and it took place along the James River on December 4th, 1619. Wow, December 4th is today! Happy real Thanksgiving everybody, and watch out for the elementary schoolers if you visit Jamestown.