After paying a $6 per person entry fee, you drive along the causeway that connects the island to the mainland, parking at the Visitor's Center parking lot. It's a short walk to the building, which houses a number of artifacts in clear display cases in a dimly-lit room.

Of note is a wonderful diorama of the three-sided fort. It stretches about 10 feet on the long sides, and about six feet on the short side.

More photos of the fort model (slow: 164K)

There's a small movie theater that shows a short film outlining the history of the place, as well as archeological practices. We watched a 15-minute movie on the founding of Jamestown.

A fairly large gift shop anchors the left hand side of the building, while the theater anchors the right.

One case holds the weapons and armor dug from the site, while other cases show other items from the period.

At left, a helmet from the period.
At right, swords and a breastplate.

More towards the main area are models of the three ships that brought the first colonists.

In another case is a brand new set of armor in the style of what you'd expect in the mid 1600s. Presumably, these are recreations instead of real sets brought over from Europe, compared to the condition of the breastplate in another case. A short chainmail shirt of some type is also in the case, as are a pair of matchlocks and a pistol.

More Colonial Williamsburg

Introduction and Colony History
Visitor's Center
Old Town
New Town
Five Mile Loop
Jumbo Illustration of 1600s Jamestown (monstrously slow: 1.3Mb)

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