Six Parts of the Historic Triangle

This part of Virginia is known by several names. For most of us out-of-staters we just lump it all together and say Williamsburg. For locals it is often called the Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads is the natural drainage channel of the James and other local rivers into the Chesapeake Bay. Guidebooks like to refer to it as the Historic Triangle. That triangle consists of Jamestown (where things started), Williamsburg (where it grew) and Yorktown (where the battle for independence ended).

I have covered Williamsburg in the journal Colonial Williamsburg Collage. This journal covers the rest and a couple of other neat places, too. It took us two days to cover this territory, so don’t skimp on time. I regret not spending more time at Historic Jamestown and not taking the driving and walking tours at the Yorktown Battlefield.

Quick Tips:

Combination tickets are available that can save a few bucks.

Best Way To Get Around:

We drove our own car. However there are tours available, check the literature at your motel or consierge at your resort. Take the Colonial Parkway for a quick and lovely drive from Jamestown to Yorktown. Getting off at Williamsburg is a bit tricky the first time, but if you miss one exit there is another.

Yorktown’s waterfront along the wide York River is the place to go for lunch. My guidebook listed two places, Waterstreet Landing and Yorktown Pub. The first one we saw we pulled into. The humor in this is that the other one shares the same parking area and the waitresses in Waterstreet Landing were all wearing Yorktown Pub shirts. That sure confused me.

Waterstreet Landing is a no frills hometown café. During our visit it was decorated for Halloween. Kind of hokey. The place filled up quickly after we arrived and I never saw a table empty for long. The food is a cut above your usual hometown café. I had crab cake and carrot cake. Bill had a Yorktown sandwich, which is a ham & cheese BLT. For dessert he had baked apple dumpling that sure made him smile. The bonus that comes with this café is a great view of the waterfront park and the Yorktown Bridge. Lunch for two with one beverage, two desserts and tip was $35.50.

Jamestown Settlement took us by surprise with its variety of educational and entertaining experiences. This living history museum celebrates the 1606 arrival in the New World of 105 men and boys aboard three ships out of London, England.

In the beautiful brick Visitors Center we first viewed a film emphasizing the rigors of starting the colony. First there was the indigenous culture that at times was friendly and at times deadly. The climate problems, heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and no source of good fresh water at the selected site were hard to live with. The colonists had to deal with a long drought that made crop raising difficult. They failed at several attempts at industry (including glassmaking) until they finally succeeded at tobacco cultivation. There was much bickering and "politics" in the early years. Only after women were imported did the colony mellow. In 1619 African slaves were introduced to the colony and from then on became a significant part of the southern colonies economy and culture.

After the orientation film we were given the opportunity to join a tour group or to visit the living history park on our own. This consisted of three major areas: 1) recreation of a Powhatan Indian Village; 2) recreations of the three boats, Susan Constant, Godspeed and the Discovery; 3) recreation of James Fort. All three had costumed interpretive guides who busied themselves with work of their area but would pause to talk and answer questions. We saw rope making, sewing, wood whittling and flint chipping in the Powhatan settlement. On board the boats the guides mainly made sure no one fell overboard or bonked their heads going below deck. At the fort we saw carpenter, blacksmith, and heard often the musket firing demonstration.

These activities filled up the morning. Fortunately there is a large museum café in the Visitors Center. It had pizza, burgers, sandwiches (including crab cake), salads and absolutely the best bread pudding with raisin sauce I have ever had. Lunch for two with one beverage and one dessert was $15.76.

After lunch we visited the impressive galleries. Here the emphasis was on the three major cultures that were so important to the forming of the colony: English, African and Powhatan.

Before leaving Jamestown Settlement we shopped their excellent gift shop. Unfortunately it coincided with at least a 100 grade schoolers on tour all trying to find a souvenir or snack. The noise level was painful and trying to get from Point A to Point B was nearly impossible. Grade school teachers are indeed saints.

Cost for a double pass to Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center was $31.90 for two seniors.

Our visit to Historic Jamestown was brief. No fault to what was offered here. We had been here on a previous trip and saw the Pocahontas Statue, the ruins of the church tower and the footprint of the 1607 James Fort. We had worn ourselves out at the Jamestown Settlement, so we decided to skip the long walk to the archeological museum even though it had been of priority interest to us. Instead we watched the orientation film at the Visitors Center. Well done! The theater in the round not only projected images on the wall screens, it also lit the floor with changing images. This center also had a small gift shop where I bought a yellow slipware coffee mug that has become my favorite coffee/tea cup.

From the Visitor Center we drove the causeway road to the Glasshouse. Along the way we saw long leggy birds in the marshy waters. It was a beautiful drive. The Glasshouse is reached by a trail through the woods that allowed us a view of the wide James River. The open-air glasshouse was fully operational. Several workers were moving from the ovens to the chairs where they blow, shape and manipulate the molten glass. We could watch from various angles and listen to an expert explain the activities. At the far end of the building was a sales room. Everything sold here was made here. We learned that the light green shade is the only true color of glass. To achieve clear, or cobalt or amber various metals are added to the mix. Outside along the trail back to the parking lot we saw a display of non-colonial inspired art glass that the blowers here did on the time-off. They are indeed artists.

We couldn’t have timed our visit to Yorktown better …or worse! Today was the 226th anniversary of Cornwallis’ surrender at the Battle of Yorktown that was the end of the Revolutionary War. Nifty, huh?! Well the problem was there were very formal military activities going on in town to mark the event. Roads were closed, traffic diverted. We drove in a circle and had to talk to the same soldier again who sent us off in that direction. Finally we found a back road access to the Yorktown Victory Center. This living history museum is partnered with the Jamestown Settlement we visited earlier in our stay. The same careful gallery displays and outdoor interactive exhibits existed in both places.

In the gallery I was really impressed with all white statues of individuals set in their natural surrounds. A spotlight would highlight that area and an audio ran with the words of that individual talking about living through the war years. It was interesting to get the perspective of those on the home front. Another interesting display took us "underwater" to see the archeological dig of the sunken ship Betsy.

Outside we visited the encampment of the Continental Army. The costumed guide told me six soldiers shared one of those small tents….well it would be easier to keep warm that way. A tiny cone-shaped tent was for storing the muskets. The officer’s tents were a little more spacious. Woven branch and twig structures filled with rocks are called gabions. They were used to shore up the trenches. Another guide showed us the surgeon/dentists tools and another taught us how to load and fire a musket.

Stepping forward a few years, we visited a post-revolutionary 1780s farm. This was a profit making operation (probably from tobacco) but also supplied the family with their food both plant and animal. The farmer’s wife even had a trained jumping chicken. Talk about entertainment!

In the gift shop we found a very nice selection of books for both adults and children. We found a book about one of the characters we saw highlighted in the museum. I also found some pretty yellow slipware and free samples of kettlecorn.

We arrived at the National Park Service Visitor Center at Yorktown on October 19, 2007, the 226th anniversary of Washington’s victory over Cornwallis that ended the Revolutionary War. It was a zoo. But understandably so, as it had been declared a "free day" at the park. Attendance was high.

There is a video presentation in the auditorium that explains how the three forces: English, American and French met on this small peninsula and brought about the English surrender. The indoor museum was quite small but contained two very interesting items. The first was a full size replica of part of a British warship. Comparing this to the small ships at the Jamestown Settlement was interesting. The British military lived fairly well…they should have been able to win this war purely on being better prepared. True, it was almost two hundred years apart, but the difference between commercial and well-heeled military is impressive. The other special exhibit contained George Washington’s original field tents. They are kept behind a special dark glass under subdued lighting to help with the preservation.

Guided 30 minute walking tours were available of the battlefield and Yorktown. In addition there is a self-guided auto tour. Some of the battlements can be seen from the parking lot.

There is a modest gift shop. Admission is normally $10 for adults or free if you have a Golden Eagle pass.

So what else happened in Yorktown besides a decisive war battle? Lets take a look at where Yorktown is located geographically. Situated on the wide York River where it joins the Chesapeake Bay, this town has got to have a huge history for fishermen or as they are called here, watermen.

We found a terrific little museum at 309 Water Street called the Watermen’s Museum. The story of the building alone is worth the visit. This lovely former home is a circa 1935 Colonial Revival. Originally located in Gloucester County it was moved by barge in 1987 this site. Quite an undertaking! The host at the museum pointed out that that method was a lot less troublesome than having to go by land and remove/restore power lines along the way.

A waterman is a general term that covers fishermen, crabbers, oyster harvesters and clammers who work the Chesapeake and its tributaries. The museum housed a variety of artifacts including a dugout canoe, skipjack, foghorns, unique tools, barnacle encrusted items that have been hauled up from the depths, and more. We saw many photographs, learned how to tell a he-crab from a she-crab, and were impressed with hurricane damage pictures of this area.

Outside the museum are a boat-building display, and dock and an "event" area. There is a tiny gift shop. Admission was $4.00 for adults.