History

Experience the story of America in the place where it all began. As you travel through the Greater Williamsburg Area — Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown — you’re witnessing more than four centuries of history. Discover what John Smith’s Virginia colony was like while you visit Jamestown Settlement’s museum exhibits and re-created settings. Observe an archeological dig and the original fort at Historic Jamestowne. Feel the excitement of Colonial Williamsburg, where historical interpreters and actors re-create life on the eve of the Revolutionary War. Travel to the Yorktown Battlefield, where the British surrender allowed the United States to gain its independence at long last. Then find a new appreciation and understanding of our nation’s beginnings at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, where you can explore re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm.

Explore the role of the Historic Triangle in the Civil War, beginning with the Battle of Williamsburg.