Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia accredited by the American Association of Museums, administers Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century history and culture, and the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution.

Jamestown Settlement 
Jamestown Settlement living-history museum explores the world of America’s first permanent English colony. Expansive exhibition galleries and an introductory film trace Jamestown’s beginnings in England and the first century of the Virginia colony, and describe the cultures of Powhatan Indians, Europeans and Africans who converged in 17th-century Virginia. Historical interpreters depict 1600s life at outdoor re-creations of the colonists’ fort, the three ships that arrived from England in 1607 and a Powhatan Indian village, and at a riverfront discovery area. Visitors are invited to grind corn, scrape out a canoe, play games, wear armor and engage in other activities that make the 17th century come alive. Guided tours of the museum galleries and outdoor living-history areas offered daily throughout the year. Gift shops and café.

2008 admission to Jamestown Settlement is $13.50 for adults and $6.25 for youth (6-12); combination ticket and annual pass available with the Yorktown Victory Center. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round (until 6 p.m. June 15-August 15); closed Christmas and New Year’s days. Jamestown Settlement is located on Route 31 South at the Colonial Parkway, next to Historic Jamestowne, administered by the National Park Service and APVA Preservation Virginia.  For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.

Yorktown Victory Center 
The Yorktown Victory Center living-history museum chronicles America’s struggle for independence from the beginnings of colonial unrest to the formation of a new nation. A Declaration of Independence Gallery emphasizes the dramatic impact and relevance of this historic document. Exhibits also provide eyewitness accounts of the American Revolution and describe the convergence of forces on Yorktown in 1781 for the climactic military engagement of the Revolution. “The Legacy of Yorktown: Virginia Beckons,” a long-term exhibition examines how people from many different cultures, those in Virginia before the 1607 founding of Jamestown and those who arrived later, shaped a new society, and incorporates the theme of creating a new nation, focusing on the Constitution and Bill of Rights as the result of the Revolution. Outdoors, historical interpreters engage visitors in everyday life during the Revolutionary era. Muster with troops in a Continental Army encampment to experience a soldier’s life and, on a re-created 1780s farm, help with chores such as weeding the garden and processing flax. Gift shop.

2008 admission to the Yorktown Victory Center is $9.25 for adults and $5.00 for youth (6-12); combination ticket and annual pass available with Jamestown Settlement. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round (until 6 p.m. June 15-August 15); closed Christmas and New Year’s days.  The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, near Yorktown Battlefield, administered by the National Park Service.  For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.