News Releases

Posted on November 26, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., November 25, 2014—History makes the holidays fun at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center during “A Colonial Christmas,” December 1, 2014, through January 4, 2015. The month-long event explores 17th- and 18th-century holiday traditions with interpretive programs and, beginning December 20, musical entertainment of the period. The two living-history museums tell

Posted on November 12, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., November 12, 2014 — Savor the Thanksgiving holiday by exploring centuries-old cooking and preservation methods during Jamestown Settlement’s and Yorktown Victory Center’s “Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia,” November 27-29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This annual three-day event begins on Thanksgiving Day. At Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia, discover how fo

Posted on November 7, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., November 7, 2014 – Easy navigation, integration of social media and responsive design are hallmarks of a new generation of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation website, hif.ciniva.net, launched this fall.  The Foundation is a Virginia state agency that administers Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums and conducts outreach education programs in public sch

Posted on October 27, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., October 27, 2014 – Jamestown Settlement’s Godspeed is setting sail November 2 for Urbanna, where the ship will host education programs on November 6 and participate in the Urbanna Oyster Festival November 7 and 8. The Godspeed, a re-creation of one of the three vessels that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, is a featured exhibit at the U

Posted on October 21, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., October 21, 2014 – Nancy Robertson McNerney of McLean was appointed by Virginia Governor Terence R. McAuliffe for a term through June 2018 to the Board of Trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums and conducts outreach education programs in public schools across the state.

Posted on October 17, 2014, by admin

Festive fun in every corner of Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown region WILLIAMSBURG, Va., October 17, 2014 —Cherish holiday memories and family moments this season in America’s Historic Triangle, where a year-round vacation package allows visitors to take in living-history programs and festive events that delve into the stories of the nation’s beginnings – the 1607 founding at Jamestown of America

Posted on October 3, 2014, by admin

YORKTOWN, Va., October 3, 2014 — The 233rd anniversary of America’s decisive Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown will be marked with a variety of engaging hands-on military interpretive programs and tours on Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19, at the Yorktown Victory Center and Yorktown Battlefield. A patriotic parade and commemorative ceremony will be held on Sunday, October 19 – Yorktown D

Posted on October 3, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., October 3, 2014 – Author and acclaimed documentary filmmaker Peter Firstbrook will speak in Jamestown Settlement’s Robins Foundation Theater at 3 p.m., Tuesday, October 14, on the exploits and accomplishments of Captain John Smith, the subject of his new book, “A Man Most Driven.”  Smith had an instrumental role in the survival of the early 17th-century English colony at Jamesto

Posted on October 3, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., October 2, 2014 – “Family Frights at Jamestown Settlement,” a Halloween-theme museum night for elementary-school-age children, debuts Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25. Trick-or-treating, ghostly tales, grizzly games and a spooky straw maze are among activities offered from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on both dates. A costume parade begins at 7:30 p.m. each evening. Sound effects, sm

Posted on September 8, 2014, by admin

YORKTOWN, Va., September 8, 2014 – The Yorktown Victory Center will host a series of free public lectures with a Revolutionary War theme on Tuesday evenings this fall, with guest scholars speaking at 7 p.m., September 30, October 7 and 28, and November 4 in the museum’s Richard S. Reynolds Foundation Theater. September 30 – “Why Yorktown: A Geologic Perspective.” Dr. Gerald H. Johnson, Coll

Posted on September 3, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., September 3, 2014 — Hear chantey singers, scrape out a Powhatan-style canoe and discover the life of a modern waterman during “Community Day: On the Riverfront,” September 20 at Jamestown Settlement history museum. The event celebrates the opening of “Working and Racing on the Bay: The Chesapeake Log Canoe,” a special exhibition presented in partnership with The Mariners’ Museum

Posted on September 3, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., September 3, 2014 — A new special exhibition, “Working and Racing on the Bay: The Chesapeake Log Canoe,” will open at Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia history and culture, on September 19, 2014. Curated by The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va., and featuring objects from its collection, the yearlong exhibition will trace the evolution of the dugout can

Posted on September 2, 2014, by admin

YORKTOWN, Va., September 2, 2014 – Permanent gallery exhibits for the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, replacing the Yorktown Victory Center by late 2016, will be fabricated and installed by Design and Production Incorporated (D&P), a nationally prominent firm based in Lorton. The $9.4 million contract was awarded to D&P by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency

Posted on August 26, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., August 26, 2014 – As the traditional school year gets underway, homeschool families can enjoy history lessons at Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia, and the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution, with special admission and hands-on programs and family tours available September 6-21. The two museums are administered by the Jamestown-Yor

Posted on August 5, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., August 5, 2014 – Altria Group, Inc., headquartered in Richmond, has made a grant of $200,000 to support development of the inaugural special exhibition at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. The exhibition is expected to open approximately a year after completion of the new museum in late 2016. “The Altria grant is the first designated for the new museum’s special exh

Posted on July 10, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., July 10, 2014 – Eighteen Virginia educators will take part in the 2014 Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Summer Teacher Institute July 13-18 at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums. Correlated with the Virginia Standards of Learning and national curriculum objectives, the institute emphasizes interactive, inquiry-based methods of teaching American history

Posted on July 1, 2014, by admin

YORKTOWN, Va., July 1, 2014 – A rare newspaper printing of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a precursor of the United States Declaration of Independence, has been acquired for the future American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, replacing the Yorktown Victory Center by late 2016. The June 12, 1776, issue of The Pennsylvania Gazette containing the Virginia Declaration will be exhibited in the new

Posted on June 24, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., June 24, 2014 – Clifford B. Fleet of Richmond succeeds Sue H. Gerdelman of Williamsburg on July 1 as president of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc., the not-for-profit entity that coordinates private fundraising to benefit programs of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums.

Posted on June 17, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., June 17, 2014 – The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, the state agency that administers Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center living-history museums, recently recognized 60 employees for reaching service milestones and 128 individuals for commitment to the Foundation’s volunteer program. The Foundation also presented merit awards to three employees at a June 4 event.

Posted on June 16, 2014, by admin

YORKTOWN, Va., June 16, 2014 — Salute the 238th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence during “Liberty Celebration,” July 4-6, at the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on all three days, visitors can observe tactical and artillery drills, take part in a variety of military exercises, and learn about the challenges that faced our nation’s

Posted on June 13, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., June 13, 2014 – Virginia Delegates Thomas A. Greason of Ashburn, Barry D. Knight of Virginia Beach and R. Lee Ware, Jr., of Powhatan have been appointed by House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell to the Board of Trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums and conducts o

Posted on June 10, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., June 10, 2014 — “Party on the Pier” will be held at Jamestown Settlement on Friday, June 20, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit educational programs of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and its museums, Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center. All-inclusive tickets are now on sale and include dinner and live entertainment on the ships’ pier. Against the back

Posted on June 6, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., June 6, 2014 – The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums, has acquired a previously unknown oil portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, a freeborn, educated African who was kidnapped in Africa and sold as a slave in Maryland during the colonial era. Before taking its place as a centerpiece

Posted on May 27, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., May 27, 2014 – The Godspeed, a re-creation of one of the three vessels that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607, will participate in the 38th Annual Norfolk Harborfest® June 6-8, leading tall ships in a parade of sail that starts in Hampton Roads at 10:30 a.m., Friday, June 6. The ship will be docked at Norfolk’s Waterside Marina throughout th

Posted on May 23, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., May 23, 2014 — Clothing, from single thread to whole garment, will be the focus of interpretive programs during “Fashion in Colonial Virginia” month, June 1-30 at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center. Together, the two living-history museums tell the story of the nation’s colonial beginnings, from the arrival of America’s first permanent English colonists in 1607 to

Posted on May 14, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Beginning with a “From Africa to Virginia” theme in February, Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center offer an array of commemorative special events and family-friendly themed interpretive programs throughout 2011, as well as seven public lectures presented by leading scholars. The two year-round living-history museums tell the story of America’s beginnings, fro

Posted on May 2, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., May 2, 2014 – Peter Armstrong, an internationally known leader in the museum profession, will join the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency that operates Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums, on May 7 as senior director of museum operations and education. He fills the position held by the late Joseph A. Gutierrez, Jr. Armstrong, w

Posted on April 22, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., April 22, 2014 — On Saturday, May 10, Historic Jamestowne and Jamestown Settlement will mark the 407th anniversary of the 1607 founding in Virginia of America’s first permanent English settlement. “Jamestown Day” features Historic Jamestowne’s ongoing archaeological discoveries of the 1607 fort and one of Jamestown Settlement’s ships sailing in the James River. A variety of f

Posted on March 28, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 28, 2014 – Herbert V. Kelly, Jr., of Newport News and Thomas H. Tullidge, Jr., of Richmond were elected to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc., Board of Directors for terms through June 30, 2017, and June 30, 2016, respectively.  The Foundation, Inc., is a not-for-profit entity that coordinates fundraising to benefit programs of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Vir

Posted on March 27, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 27, 2014 – Spring in Virginia’s Historic Triangle is the season for planting at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center, living-history museums that tell the story of America’s beginnings, and the time for planning a garden-themed trip. Field crops, vegetables and herbs – types grown in the 17th and 18th centuries – are cultivated at Jamestown Settlement’s

Posted on March 21, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 5, 2009 – Soldiers throughout history will descend upon the grounds of Jamestown Settlement history museum for its time-honored Military Through the Ages event on March 21 and 22. In the course of one weekend – from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday – visitors will experience the past and present in a unique chronological display of military history as more than 3

Posted on March 20, 2014, by admin

YORKTOWN, Va., March 20, 2014 – A public lecture at the Yorktown Victory Center at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 10, will consider the fate of Loyalists during the American Revolution. Holger Hoock, the J. Carroll Amundson Professor of British History at the University of Pittsburgh, will present “‘The Tyranny of the People’: A Loyalist Perspective on the American Revolut

Posted on March 15, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., February 21, 2008 – More than 300 re-enactors depicting soldiers from the eleventh century through modern times converge at Jamestown Settlement for the 25th annual “Military Through the Ages,” Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the course of one weekend, visitors will experience the past and present in a unique chronological display of military hist

Posted on March 11, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 11, 2014 – A Citizenship Ceremony for children of recently naturalized United States citizens will be held on Saturday, March 22, at Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia. The event is hosted by the Williamsburg Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in partnership with U.S. Citizenship

Posted on February 26, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., February 26, 2014 — Hundreds of re-enactors depicting armed forces from the first century A.D. to modern times will come together for one weekend on Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16, for the 30th anniversary of Jamestown Settlement’s “Military Through the Ages” event. This chronological display of military history, held each year at Jamestown Settlement since 1984, will f

Posted on February 12, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A special ticket for homeschool families will be available February 26 through March 5 for admission to Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia, and the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution. The two museums are administered by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. At $10.50 per family member, th

Posted on January 31, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., January 31, 2014 – From emphasis on early American fashion, weapons and food to the story of how canoes of the Chesapeake Bay region evolved from single- to multi-log watercraft, special programs at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center in 2014 present a vibrant portrayal of life in the 17th and 18th centuries.   The two state-operated living-histo

Posted on January 24, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., January 24, 2014 – “From Africa to Virginia” is the theme of interpretive programs throughout February at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums.  The culture of the first known Africans in Virginia and the experience of people of African descent in colonial and Revolutionary America is highlighted in the museums’ gallery

Posted on January 14, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., January 14, 2014 – Admissions revenue at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center was up 2.4 percent in 2013, amounting to $5,153,363.  Paid visitation at the two living-history museums operated by the state’s Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation was nearly even with 2012, totaling 560,072, a decrease of one-tenth of a percent. The Yorktown Victory

Posted on January 13, 2014, by admin

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., January 13, 2014 – The Civil War 150 HistoryMobile is coming to Jamestown Settlement during the museum’s annual Military Through the Ages event March 15 and 16.  The exhibit is an initiative of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, which was created by the General Assembly to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in V