Jamestown, VA - Glassworks & Settlement

Jamestown had enough sand and stuff (whatever that is) to make their own glass and wares. Early settlers were so self sufficient. They made their own clothes, their own tools, dishes, glass, grew their own food ... I think we have lost the art of "living" in going to the store to buy today!  Anyway, we went to watch them make glass the same way they did in 1610. Was so fun!

 This is the furnace they melt the sand (or stuff) to make the glass. The natural color to Jamestown

 was green. I bought two little glasses (kind you drink juice out of) and a candleholder

 for my dining table that they made there!

 Here is a sampling of what they made and had for sale. By adding cobalt to the sand they could make Blue.

At the settlement (this part was run by the State of Virginia) they had 3 areas you could visit and explore: Indian Settlement, Colonist Settlement, and the Ships.

Here are some indian structures that you actually got to go inside. One was a hunting lodge.

 This is a lady dressed like an indian who would tell you things and answer questions.

 I really enjoyed this part - the colonist settlement. It reminded me of PBS show "Colonial House". You can see the guy in the white shirt sitting working. He was dressed in clothes of the period and doing work (can't remember what). There were a lot of people dressed for the times. You could go in and see the churches, homes, etc... that were all rebuilt to the day.

 This was interesting. This is a raised platform in each corner of the fort. You can see the little square holes - those were where the canyon were moved up to so it could shoot through the holes.

There were three ships that brought the colonists to Jamestown. One was Susan Constant (large ship - far left), Godspeed (medium in size - middle) and Discovery (little on right). They were telling us that the smallest ship was carried on a freigther to England and then it sailed back to Jamestown. It was amazing to be on the ship and see how small they were inside for a crew of 33.

 Here you can see a canon, people walking around the ship.

Here I am on the Discovery ship.  We kept thinking our son-in-law, Nick, would like to sail one of these. But I don't think I would have had sea legs!