The 400th anniversary of America’s first permanent English colony, founded in Virginia in 1607, was commemorated through a series of events and programs that began in 2006 and continued into 2008. Jamestown 2007, a state planning organization established as the result of 1996 Virginia General Assembly action, partnered with state and federal entities and Virginia communities in coordinating anniversary efforts. The celebration was a grand success, and Jamestown is thrilled to be a part of the birth and continuing life cycle of this great nation.

America’s 400th Anniversary: Jamestown 2007 Steering Committee Report

The graphic illustrates the many organizations and committees that coordinated resources for the commemoration:

• View our Legacy site
• Learn more about Jamestown’s 400 anniversary celebration
• Virginia General Assembly legislation designating the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation as the Commonwealth’s lead entity responsible for organizing the 400th anniversary commemoration – 1996
• Virginia General Assembly amendment authorizing Commonwealth agency cooperation with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation to plan and implement the 400th Anniversary commemoration -1998
• 2007 Annual Report (pdf)
• America’s 400th Anniversary Signature Events
• America’s 400th Anniversary Partner Events
• Browse the photo galleries of America’s 400th Anniversary commemorative events
• Virginia 2007 Community Program
• Jamestown Settlement: A Stage for 2007 (pdf)
• Jamestown Settlement Permanent Exhibition (pdf)
• Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Commemoration Highlights (pdf)
• Commemoration Planning Structure and Partners (pdf)
• Jamestown 2007 Steering Committee Goals (pdf)
• Historic Triangle Host Committee (pdf)
• Economic Impact Analysis of America’s 400th Anniversary (pdf)
• Measuring America’s 400th Anniversary (Press Release) (pdf)
• America’s 400th Anniversary Press Releases

Jamestown Quadricentennial reaches pinnacle with royal visit

Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh came to Jamestown Settlement on May 4, 2007 as part of a two-day visit to Virginia that included stops at the state capitol in Richmond, Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Jamestowne.

The royal visit at Jamestown Settlement began with a dramatic presentation in the re-created 1610-14 fort, a welcome from Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Co-Chairman Thomas K. Norment, Jr., and remarks by U.S. Vice President Richard B. Cheney and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, honorary chair of America’s 400th Anniversary. The presentation, “Historic Links and Bonds of Friendship,” developed in partnership with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, chronicled the history of the relationship between Britain and America over the past 400 years, with a reference to the 50 years that have passed since the Queen’s and Duke of Edinburgh’s last visit in 1957.

The Queen then toured the three “public” buildings in the fort – guardhouse, storehouse and church, where students were engaged in a program about the role of religion at Jamestown – while the Duke of Edinburgh toured the Susan Constant and observed students participating in a demonstration of 17th-century navigation. About 1,200 people, including invited guests and members of the general public and education groups, were on hand to witness the visit, which also was broadcast on a large screen on the museum mall.

May 11-13, 2007
Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestowne & Anniversary Park

Three days of cultural events, historical pageantry and ceremonies, musical performances, children’s entertainment and fireworks mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English settlement. Single-day admission tickets to all three commemorative sites are $30 for adults and $15 for youth (6-12), and free for children under 6, and must be purchased in advance.

• Schedule of Demonstrations and Events at Jamestown Settlement
• Schedule of Events at Historic Jamestowne
• Schedule of Events at Anniversary Park
• Parking and General Information (pdf)
• Anniversary Weekend Poster (pdf)

Jamestown Settlement museum features “The World of 1607” special exhibition, new introductory film, 1607: A Nation Takes Root, and exhibition galleries that explore the Powhatan Indians, English and African cultures that converged in 17th-century Virginia.

Jamestown Settlement will offer an array of special programming May 11-13 in addition to guided tours of new 30,000-square-foot permanent exhibition galleries and interpretive demonstrations at the re-created Powhatan Indian village, 1607 ships and colonial fort, and riverfront discovery area. Jamestown Settlement’s Honor Guard, modeled after the retinue of early Virginia governor Lord de la Warr, will present military drills and visitor-participatory artillery demonstrations will take place on the museum mall. Historical dance and 17th-century music will be performed on a mall stage.

In museum classrooms, first-person interpreters will depict King James I, John Rolfe and John Smith, and traditional African stories will be told. Aspects of 17th-century Virginia history will be explored in programs titled “Women of Three Centuries,” “Jamestown and Popham (a short-lived 1607 colony in Maine),” “Cultures at Jamestown,” and “Berkeley (a mid-1600s Virginia governor)” and Bacon (instigator of a rebellion in the 1670s).”

The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, Jamestown Settlement’s replicas of the three ships that brought America’s first permanent colonists to Virginia in 1607, will sail in the James River and dock at the museum pier on Saturday morning, May 12, amidst pageantry and cannon salutes.

Historic Jamestowne, site of the 1607 settlement, offers insight to the Jamestown colony’s 92 years as the capital of Virginia through a multi-media theater presentation and exhibits. The new Archaearium museum showcases artifacts from the discovery of the 1607 James Fort with innovative and interactive displays. Visitors can tour the remains of the 17th-century church tower, see historical monuments honoring Jamestown’s founding, and visit the Glasshouse for a glimpse of one of Jamestown’s first industries.

Nearby Anniversary Park features a special performance by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Virginia Symphony Orchestra on Friday, May 11, a contemporary music concert on Saturday, May 12, and a 1,607-member chorale and 400-piece orchestra on Sunday, May 13. Anniversary Park also includes Anniversary Village, including information about Virginia history and destinations, and a special artisans’ village with blacksmithing, pottery-making, glass blowing and other crafts. Six performance stages at all three sites will show ongoing entertainment, including original productions of the children’s show, “Ba-baaah and the Windigo” and the song-and-dance troupe Anniversary Voices.

For more information on “America’s Anniversary Weekend,” visit americas400thanniversary.com or call (866) 400-1607.