The Project Gutenberg EBook of New Discoveries at Jamestown
by John L. Cotter
J. Paul Hudson
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Title: New Discoveries at Jamestown
Site of the First Successful English Settlement in America
Author: John L. Cotter
J. Paul Hudson
Release Date: July 13, 2005 [EBook #16277]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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[Illustration]
New Discoveries at
JAMESTOWN
Site of the First Successful
English Settlement in America
By JOHN L. COTTER and J. PAUL HUDSON
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1957
[Illustration]
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fred A. Seaton, Secretary
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Conrad L. Wirth, Director
[Illustration]
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office
Washington 25, D.C.--Price 50 cents
Preface
Jamestown, a name of first rank among historic names, saw the birth of
English America. Here on an island in the James River in the heart of
tidewater Virginia the English carved a settlement out of the
wilderness. It grew from a rude palisaded fort into a busy community and
then into a small town that enjoyed many of the comforts of daily
living. For 13 years (until 1620) Virginia was the only English colony
on the American mainland. Jamestown served this colony as its place of
origin and as its capital for 92 years--from 1607 to 1699.
After its first century of prominence and leadership, "James Towne"
entered a long decline, precipitated, in 1700, by the removal of the
seat of government to Williamsburg. Its residents drifted away, its
streets grew silent, its buildings decayed, and even its lots and former
public places became cultivated fields. Time passed and much was
forgotten or obscured. So it was when it became a historic area, in
part, in 1893, and when the whole island became devoted to historical
purposes in 1934.
Since these dates, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities and the National Park Service have worked toward the
preservatio
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