Time Travel

How about a family vacation in the 18th century--or even the 17th? The colonial past is robustly alive in Williamsburg, Va., of course, and kids love it. Where else can they talk to Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson, brought to life by astute “character interpreters,” ride in a horse-drawn coach, or stick their necks, arms and legs through holes in a stock?

But what many visitors fail to realize is that just beyond Williamsburg lies a region every bit as steeped in American history, with roots that reach deeper still into time. Indeed, I can’t think of a better way to hook children on history and give them lasting memories than to expose them to the riches the area offers.

Williamsburg is but one corner of a triangle formed by Jamestown, founded in 1607--13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock--and Yorktown, where the final battle of the Revolution took place in 1781. They lie only a few miles apart on a peninsula between the James River and the estuary of the York and are linked by the Colonial Parkway, one of the most beautiful scenic roads in America.

A trip that includes all three spots--as well as some of the great old plantation houses along the James River--represents time travel at its best, for it will sweep you from the beginning of British America to the end of it, bridging a span of 174 years. And all along the way, you will see not only the actual sites associated with this remarkable development, but also vividly re-created communities, where costumed interpreters convincingly go about the business of leading 17th and 18th century lives in historically accurate settings where you may well feel that you are caught in a time warp.

Jamestown, on a 1,500-acre, densely wooded island in the James, is located only seven miles southwest of Williamsburg. Before you go there, however, be sure to stop first at the Jamestown Settlement, a mile from the island. It includes a Powhatan Indian village, a triangular fort (based on the Jamestown original) that encloses wattle-and-daub, thatched-roof structures like those of the early settlers, and replicas of the three ships in which the initial 104 male colonists arrived after a 144-day journey from England.

You and your family would be well advised to first stroll through the museum adjacent to the entrance. No stuffy collection of dimly lighted artifacts, the exhibit--which also includes a stirring 15-minute documentary film--traces the reasons why the colonists undertook the perilous 6,000-mile journey and shows how they tried to overcome the problems they confronted in a strange new land.

One section is devoted to the Powhatans, the Native Americans with whom the settlers had to deal on a regular basis. The tribe’s most famous member was, of course, Pocahontas, the young princess who came to the rescue of the colony’s leader, Capt. John Smith. Press a button in the museum, and you will hear a variation of the language she spoke, Algonquian; it is pleasant to the ear. (Interestingly, there are 19,000 Native Americans in Virginia today, 5,000 more apparently than in Smith’s time.)

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When you come out of the modern gallery, you will know instantly that you have left the 20th century behind--except, of course, for the excited kids in sneakers scrambling about. First comes the Indian village, situated among the trees. It is complete with long houses made of bent saplings covered with reed mats. These were recreated through meticulous archeological excavations and examination of 17th century images. Buckskin-clad interpreters demonstrate everything from cooking in a fire pit to the shaping and baking of clay pottery.

As you follow the path leading through the forest to the James, you will soon see the Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant. Board the Susan Constant, and you will doubtlessly wonder how the colonists could have survived in such squeezed quarters, even though the ship is the largest of the three. It doesn’t seem much bigger than a school bus.

Sailors are on hand to talk about the rigors of shipboard life. Other interpreters of the past, dressed in the loose-fitting clothes of the day, wait on the docks to capture youngsters’ imaginations. Exuding authority, one convincing old salt had the group of children sitting around him in his thrall as he explained how the twin cannon balls, linked by a short chain, could destroy an enemy’s rigging when fired. I asked him later if he was portraying a particular person, as is often the case in Williamsburg. “No,” he said. “I just love history.”

Now head uphill to the palisaded fort, laid out according to a description of the one that stood at Jamestown. The cluster of clay-covered houses, workshop and church inside is utterly real, rendered all the more so by the Elizabethan-clad men and women who perform their various tasks unself-consciously while somehow also managing to answer visitors’ questions about their activities.

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Try on some of the armor lying about and imagine how you would feel wearing it on a hot and humid Virginia summer day. One of the soldier interpreters, who had a bandoleer slung over his shoulders, each of its dangling wooden chargers filled with gunpowder, caused quite a stir when he demonstrated how to load and fire a matchlock musket.

Steeped in the history and life of the Jamestown colony, I was now more eager than ever to see the spot a mile away where the settlers struggled to survive during the early years. They had been drawn initially by the “faire meadows and goodly tall Trees” and “fresh waters running through the woods,” which left one writer feeling “almost ravished at the first site thereof.” But of the 500 who were living in Jamestown between 1609 and 1610, only 60 made it through this difficult period, known as “the starving time.”

My interest in Jamestown had been piqued by a recent newspaper story that suggested the colonists could not have arrived at a worse time. As revealed by tree-ring analysis, the area was undergoing its severest drought in 770 years. The disasters that befell the settlers have long been attributed to their ineptitude, which supposedly helped bring on the famine. It would appear now that they were largely the victims of nature.

The drought ended in 1612, when things decidedly picked up for the colonists, who began making money from the sale of what King James I called the “noxious weed,” tobacco, to eager English merchants. Jamestown went on to flourish and become the capital of the Virginia colony and remained so until Williamsburg replaced it as the seat of government in 1699, after which the town languished and all but disappeared.

The souls of the unfortunates who starved here seem to hover over the open area closest to the water, where archeologists are today busily digging up the remains of the fort; so far they have uncovered 30,000 artifacts.

In the light of such patiently gathered new knowledge, the 1920s bronze statue of Pocahontas that stands near the 17th century church tower (the only early structure to survive on the site) would certainly not look as it does now. As a guide explained, pointing to the noble figure of the Indian maiden staring off into the distance, the sculptor incorrectly dressed her in Plains Indian garb. In fact, a Powhatan girl as young as Pocahontas would have gone around naked. But from the golden gleam of her hands, produced by hundreds of children and adults clasping them and rubbing off the patina, I could tell that however inaccurate the statue may be, it continues to be a well-loved one.

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Like Jamestown, Yorktown consists essentially of two parts--the Yorktown Victory Center, which sheds light on the conclusive battle fought nearby, and the enormous battlefield itself. Jamestown and Yorktown, which are 20 miles apart, could be visited in one day, but I gave myself two, as there is a great deal to see.

The center also has an interesting movie and fine displays accompanied by recorded readings of excerpts from the writings of people who fought in, or lived through, the Revolution. Among the museum’s treasures are campaign tents used by George Washington. A downstairs gallery contains some of the items of daily life retrieved from the holds of British ships scuttled in a desperate attempt to block American and French landings. There is something poignant about these relics; a scuffed old shoe is a reminder that it was worn by a sailor far from home. Did he survive?

As part of the living history theme of the museum, visitors will find an encampment of Colonial soldiers outside. A “surgeon” in a tri-corner hat was happily grossing out a school group from Anaheim. One girl, who had volunteered to be his wounded patient, was about to have her arm “cut off” without benefit of painkillers. From the array of instruments and saws the surgeon had at his disposal, it seemed the amputation would have gone quickly enough--and the stump would have been instantly cauterized to stop bleeding. But would the poor traumatized victim have survived? Not too likely, was his opinion.

Beyond white tents pitched in rows is the entry to a re-created 1780s Virginia working farm, which provides a glimpse of what life was like for the common folk.

I paused to talk to an herbalist seated by a split-rail fence. He had arranged on a table top various herbs commonly used by our ancestors and spoke to me about each of them. Rosemary for remembrance is no idle line of Ophelia, he explained, but a reflection of rosemary’s ability to polish memory. But he took pains to point out that many people--especially children--died in the 18th century from allergic reactions to, or overdoses of, the herbal remedies.

Before visiting the battlefield, I explored Yorktown itself, a charming town on a bluff above the York. A flourishing port in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, it had already become something of a backwater before the Revolution. The war reduced the number of its houses from more than 250 to 70, and the Civil War wreaked further havoc. But what survives is wonderful, including several grand houses, lovingly restored.

The battlefield is vast and is best visited in a car, with all the important sites marked by informative signs. Quite another experience awaited me along Route 5, which runs close by the James, as I drove north to take in a few of the beautiful plantation homes and their gardens that line the river. My first stop was at Shirley, the oldest plantation in Virginia, begun in 1660. The three-story mansion, with walls 3 feet thick, is still lived in by the family who built it. They have graciously opened it and its outbuildings to the public. The interior contains original portraits, silver and furniture.

Visitors to the James area can visit several other great houses that stay open throughout the year. Among them are Evelynton; Sherwood Forest, home of President John Tyler; and Berkley.

After a three-day excursion through the three dimensional world of some of America’s most important historic sites, I am determined to go back soon for more.

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GUIDEBOOK

Journey Into History

Getting there: It’s cheaper to fly into Washington, D.C., but Richmond, Va., is closer to Jamestown and Yorktown by almost 100 miles (a 2 1/2- to three-hour drive). Fly nonstop to Washington-Dulles on American and United; fares begin at $282. Into Richmond, connecting service only on Delta, US Airways, United, Northwest, Continental and American; fares start at $458 round trip.

Visiting Jamestown and Yorktown: The Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adults, $9.75; children 6-12, $4.75. Combined Jamestown-Yorktown tours: Adults, $13.50; children, ages 6-12, $6.50. Jamestown, the original site, is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in summer; visitors over 17, $5. The Yorktown Battlefield is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; visitors over 17, $4.

Where to stay: Because of its central location, Williamsburg may be your best bet, with accommodations available within and outside the Historic District. In the Historic District, you can stay in 18th century houses, or in other hostelries managed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Telephone (800) HIS-TORY.

Outside Williamsburg, there are several choices. (All rates are for double rooms.) In James River: Edgewood Plantation, built in 1849, tel. (804) 829-2862, rates $148, or $158 for a suite; North Bend Plantation, built in 1819, tel. (804) 829-5176, $115 to 135; and Piney Grove at Southall’s Plantation, a log structure constructed about 1800, tel. (804) 829-2480, $125 to $165. In Yorktown: the Duke of York Motor Hotel & Restaurant, tel. (757) 898-3232, summer rate, $79; and the York River Inn Bed & Breakfast, tel. (800) 884-7003, $110 to $130.

For more information: Virginia Tourism Corp., 901 E. Byrd St., Richmond, VA 23219; tel. (800) 932-5827 or (804) 786-4484, fax (804) 786-1919.