Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, Virginia
Linked by the scenic 23-mile Colonial Parkway a little over an hour north of Norfolk, Virginia, Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown played integral roles in the English settlement of the Chesapeake region beginning in the early 1600s and, in the process, helped transform the original 13 Colonies into a new free and independent country.
Each of these points on the triangle has a distinctive history and has a great deal to offer visitors interested in the early influencers and events of what we now know as the United States of America.
Jamestown and the James River leading up to it were named to honor England’s King James I, who in 1606 granted a charter allowing three ships to sail to America. Now part of the Colonial National Historical Park Virginia, Historic Jamestowne encompasses active excavation sites where groups can choose from two behind-the-scenes walking tours.
Groups touring the site can explore James Fort, built in 1607, and see artifacts being unearthed from this early settlement, which also served as Virginia’s government seat for almost a century. The Curators Artifact Tour gives visitors a close-up look at the astounding 2 million-plus artifact collection and what these items tell us about the life and times of those residing here over 400 years ago.
Colonial Williamsburg offers a step into the past to experience an 18th-century setting with period-costumed portrayals of the men, women and children who lived here. Groups can choose from over 20 guided and self-guided tours where they can walk, talk and work alongside the Williamsburg community’s political figures, tradespeople, shopkeepers, slave community, homemakers and others. The tours — Behind-the-Scenes, Ghost Walk, Bits and Bridles, Renegade, and Art Museum, just to name a few — delight visitors with themed in-depth explorations of this vitally important Colonial capital.
Last in the timeline of Virginia’s Historic Triangle is Yorktown and the Yorktown Battlefield. It was here that the last major battle of the Revolutionary War, the 1781 Siege of Yorktown, took place for control of this once-thriving plantation tobacco port and home to approximately 2,000 residents.
The location and city is significant in that America’s independence was ultimately secured here when allied American and French forces led by Gen. George Washington defeated the British army.
Other specialized tours and programs here include Siege Line Walking Tours and Non-Firing Artillery Demonstrations held at the Yorktown Visitor Center and museum, and the original and reconstructed historic homes, structures and military-stronghold points of interest that dot the seven-square-mile battlefield grounds.
Newport, Rhode Island
The charming coastal town of Newport, Rhode Island, approximately 70 miles south of Boston and known as America’s First Resort, was one of the foremost ports in the Colonies. Today it is home to one of the largest, most extensive and well-preserved assortments of Colonial-era buildings dating from the early and mid-18th century.
Tour groups will find an extensive and diverse mix of Colonial history and contemporary attractions here. Among them are the Old Quarter, the oldest neighborhood in the city, where you will find the Redwood Library and Athenaeum founded in 1747, the oldest lending library in America and the oldest library building in continuous use in the country. Touro Synagogue is recognized as America’s oldest synagogue; the Newport Art Museum inside the John N.A. Griswold House is widely considered to be the country’s premier example of Modern Gothic or American “Stick-Style” architecture; and Fort Adams State Park is billed as “the most complex coastal fort in the United States.”
The Newport County Colonial Landmark Trail features one of the largest concentrations of Colonial homes and buildings in America, including the Samuel Whitehorn House Museum, a Federal-period house that features Newport artisan works from 1740 to 1840; the Hunter House, a Georgian Colonial home built in 1748 that served as the Revolutionary War headquarters of French Admiral Charles-Louis de Ternay; the Wanton Lyman Hazard House, Newport’s oldest private residence; and Prescott Farm, which features British General William Prescott’s guard house, a country store and an operating windmill, among others structures.
According to Andrea McHugh, marketing communications manager for Discover Newport, groups love experiencing firsthand why Newport is considered the Sailing Capital of the World.
“Sailing on an authentic 12-meter yacht on glorious Narragansett Bay is extraordinary,” McHugh said, “and groups can experience it in a whole new way by grinding and raising the winches in a miniregatta. Another fantastic group activity is riding the rails along the bank of Narragansett Bay on Rail Explorers, pedal-powered bike/vehicle hybrids that ride on railroad tracks, hands-free, [with] tour guides in the lead and in the last position.”
Other worthwhile tour stops are the newly opened Newport Car Museum in nearby Portsmouth, a 40,000-square-foot museum that features a remarkable private collection of over 45 automobiles that represent six decades of automotive design since World War II. The Newport Audrain Automobile Museum showcases over 112 of the rarest and most extraordinary vehicles made, ranging from the beginning of the 20th century to today, and is one of the most highly regarded automobile museums in New England.
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Off Route 3 South in Plymouth, Massachusetts, less than one hour from downtown Boston, Plimoth Plantation, which sits on an archaeological site with artifacts dating back 8,000 years, brings the 17th century to life with award-winning interpretation, workshops, demonstrations, special-interest clubs, exhibits and live theater at five major sites in three separate locations.
Whether the Mayflower II ship is docked at the State Pier in Plymouth or is on one of its occasional sailings, groups will learn about the experiences of the crew and passengers who sailed from Europe to their new homeland in 1620.
At the Wampanoag Homesite, Native Wampanoag and other Native American citizens whose descendants have lived in this region for more than 10,000 years are dressed in historically accurate clothing. They demonstrate cultural traditions, crafts and textile making, structure building, hunting and fishing techniques, and more during Colonial times.
The 17th Century English Village, a re-creation of the small Pilgrim farming and maritime community, features modest timber-framed houses and artifacts, and costumed characters share what life was like here along the shores of Plymouth Harbor at that time.
The Craft Center is where Native American artisans work alongside staff tailors, joiners, potters and cabinetmakers to re-create and use the tools, materials and craft techniques used in the 1600s in a typical 17th-century English village.
Just a short walk from the waterfront and the Mayflower II ship in Town Brook, the Plimoth Grist Mill is a working, water-powered reproduction of the original 1636 mill operating with 200-year-old French Buhr millstones, like those used by the Pilgrims to mill organic corn into cornmeal.
Other exciting options for groups are private guided tours; specialized speakers who focus on topics such as early gardening, timber-frame construction, period cookery, navigation and Colonial religion; and booking a historical themed dining experience with English Pilgrim or Native American hosts.
