Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, VA
Home MenuFoods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia
November 29 & 30, 2024 • Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
This Thanksgiving holiday, join in a family tradition by digging into the foodways of 17th- and 18th-century during Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia. Explore centuries-old culinary practices and cooking techniques of early Virginia during a two-day event, Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30.
Jamestown Settlement
Discover how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia’s English colonists and Powhatan Indians. Enjoy cooking demonstrations throughout the day in re-creations of Paspahegh Town, a colonial fort and along the ships’ pier. (Food preparation in the outdoor living-history areas is for demonstration purposes.)
Paspahegh Town
See venison, turkey and other game roast over an open fire, while stews of corn, beans and squash cook in clay pots. Learn the importance of corn to the Powhatan Indians and the variety of dishes in which it was used, including corncakes and corn dumplings. Throughout the day, discover how Powhatan Indians made stone and bone tools used to obtain and prepare food.
James Fort
See the culinary skills English colonists brought to Virginia as historical interpreters bake bread in a Devon oven and demonstrate open-hearth cooking of pudding, pies and pottage, based on historical recipes of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Each day at 3 p.m., learn about European defensive tactics during military drills.
Ships’ Pier
Along the ships’ pier, explore how the colony was provisioned. Throughout the day, see typical sailors’ fare of salted fish and meat, biscuit and dried foods, and discover the kinds of fresh provisions that sailors picked up along their island stops on the way to Jamestown.
| Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia Jamestown SPECIAL DEMONSTRATIONS |
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|---|---|---|
| Approximate Time | Location | Description |
| 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Paspahegh Town, Ships & Fort | Foodways of the Past Enjoy a variety of ongoing demonstrations in the outdoor living-history areas. Roll up your sleeves and lend a hand with grinding corn, rolling biscuits and making sausage! |
| 10:30 a.m. | Paspahegh Town | Powhatan Hunting Techniques How stealthy can you be? Learn the strategies used by Powhatan men to stalk and hunt game. Watch as historical interpreters demonstrate the use of a bow and arrow. |
| 12 p.m. | Ships' Pier | Navigation A well-laden supply ship benefits no one if it gets lost. Learn how 17th-century sailors steered by the stars. Weather permitting. |
| 3 p.m. | James Fort | Defending the Colony Calling all musketeers, pikemen and targeteers! Join in and drill to help defend the colony against the forces of the Spanish Empire and Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom! |
Children ages 5 and under receive free admission to both museums. Residents of York County, James City County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive complimentary admission with proof of residency.
American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
Explore how Continental Army soldiers earned their rations and witness the bounty of produce and proteins fresh from the fields transformed into stews, pies and breads.
Enjoy cooking demonstrations throughout the day in re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm.
Continental Army Encampment
Discover how soldiers tried to turn meager rations of dried beans, salted meat and hard bread into nourishing soups and stews on an earthen kitchen modeled after specifications in Baron von Steuben’s 1779 “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.”
Revolution-era Farm
Living-history interpreters prepare a variety of 18th-century dishes, in the kitchen and by the quarters for enslaved people, using historical recipes from Virginia’s earliest cookbooks and open-hearth cooking techniques. See how their traditional fares were similar in some ways and different in others. Explore the methods used by farming families to preserve and store goods through the lean winter months.
| Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia American Revolution Museum of Yorktown SPECIAL DEMONSTRATIONS |
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|---|---|---|
| Approximate Time | Location | Description |
| 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Colonial Army Encampment & Revolution-era Farm | Cooking Demonstrations Visit the kitchen in the Continental Army encampment and see how well soldiers could eat on standard military rations during the war. By contrast, visit the farm and see what’s cooking there as living-history interpreters prepare a variety of 18th-century dishes in the kitchen and by the quarters for enslaved people, using historical recipes from Virginia’s earliest cookbooks. |
| 11 a.m. & 3 p.m. | Colonial Army Encampment | Artillery Artillery was an important part of the siege at Yorktown in 1781. You might become a part of an 18th-century artillery crew practicing a dry firing. Then, cover your ears as the Continental Army crew fires the weapon. |
| 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. | Revolution-era Farm | Herbal Remedies Paying the price for overindulging? Investigate 18th-century remedies for colonial ailments. What resources did a farmer have growing on hand to cure you of headaches, indigestion or other unpleasantness? |
| 2 p.m. | Colonial Army Encampment | Pillage, Plunder and Consequences Were your rations disappointing? Thinking of taking matters into your own hands? You may want to reconsider. |
Children ages 5 and under receive free admission to both museums. Residents of York County, James City County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive complimentary admission with proof of residency.
Special event activities are made possible in part by James City County and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. Annual Fund.
Holiday shopping in museum stores
Just in time for holiday shopping, museum shops offer an assortment of inspirational gifts and books – period cookbooks to historical accounts – as well as unique ornaments, handmade items, prints, museum reproductions, educational toys, games and souvenirs relating to the 17th and 18th centuries.
Visit the museum shops in person, open during museum hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Don't miss Museum Store Sunday on December 1 — offering a 20-percent discount on total in-store purchases.
All purchases support the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and its educational mission and programs.
About the Museums
Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days. Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 near the Colonial Parkway in James City County, just southwest of Williamsburg and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne. The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, near Yorktown Battlefield and Historic Yorktown.
The museums allow visitors of all ages to enjoy extensive indoor gallery exhibits and outdoor living-history areas to connect with the stories of our shared history. Experience the holidays with a variety of tickets available online or in person. An Annual Pass makes a great holiday gift and offers unlimited visits to the museums plus daytime events and exhibits for one year. Plan your visit today or call (757) 253-4838 for more information.