Colonial National Historical Park is located in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

region of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and is operated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

government. The park protects and interprets several sites relating to the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

and the history of the United States more broadly, ranging from the site of the first landing of the English settlers who would settle at Jamestown, to the battlefields of Yorktown where the British Army was finally defeated in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. Over 3 million people visit the park each year.

Units

Colonial Parkway

The park includes the Colonial Parkway, a scenic parkway linking the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle: Jamestown and Yorktown and running through the historic district of

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...

. The Colonial Parkway is located in James City County, York County, and the city of

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

Jamestown

The park includes the original site of Jamestown, known in modern times as Historic Jamestowne. Located in James City County at the southern end of the Colonial Parkway, it encompasses the area of Jamestown Island, including the Jamestown Glasshouse. Adjacent to it is the Commonwealth of Virginia's complementary attraction known as Jamestown Settlement.

Yorktown Battlefield

At the eastern end of the Colonial Parkway, in York County at Yorktown, the park operates the Yorktown Battlefield. The Nelson House, which was built around 1724, may have served as Cornwallis's headquarters during the final battle of the Revolutionary War. The battlefield was the site of the British defeat. Both the house and the historic

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

earthworks were restored in 1976."Walter Eugene George, Jr. Collection: 1951-2007"
Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas at Austin Libraries. Retrieved 2010-11-29. The Moore House is located in the eastern part of the park; this is where surrender negotiations took place in 1781. Nearby are located the state-operated American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the Yorktown Riverwalk Landing area.

Green Spring Plantation

Sir William Berkeley, who held the colonial governorship during the longest periods of any individual, used his

Green Spring Plantation Green Spring Plantation in James City County about west of Williamsburg, was the 17th century plantation of one of the more popular governors of Colonial Virginia in North America, Sir William Berkeley, and his wife, Frances Culpeper Berk ...

as an experimental farm to attempt to develop sources of income for the colony other than cultivated tobacco and traded furs. The preserved portion of the site of Green Spring has been largely untouched since the second dwelling there and dependencies were destroyed during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

(1861–1865), promising a rich archaeological dig area to follow upon recent discoveries at the Park's location on Jamestown Island.

Cape Henry Memorial

The

Cape Henry Memorial The Cape Henry Memorial commemorates the first landfall at Cape Henry, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, of colonists bound for the Jamestown settlement. After landing on April 26, 1607, they explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross before ...

, site of the first landing of the Captain Christopher Newport and the soon-to-be Jamestown colonists in 1607, is located in the city of

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city (United States), independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 United States cen ...

at Cape Henry. Open to the public, it is located off

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...

on the Navy base Joint Expeditionary Base East.

Administrative history

Colonial National Monument was authorized on July 3, 1930. It was established on December 30, 1930. On June 5, 1936, it was redesignated a national historical park. The cemetery at Yorktown was transferred from the War Department to the

on August 10, 1933. Jamestown National Historic Site is co-owned by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) and administered by the NPS, was designated on December 18, 1940. Preservation Virginia owns containing the remains of the original 1607 fort. The National Park Service owns the remaining of the island which contains the archeological remains of the expanded towne and its island plantation sites. As with all historical areas administered by the National Park Service, Colonial National Historical Park and Jamestown National Historic Site are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

References

External links

* * * *Official NPS website
Colonial National Historical Park

Cape Henry Memorial

Friends of Green Spring
a large interactive web site with streaming video and essays ("The voices of Green Spring")
Jamestown National Historic Site

Yorktown Battlefield

Yorktown National Cemetery

{{authority control Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia American Revolutionary War museums in Virginia American Revolutionary War sites Archaeological sites in Virginia Museums in York County, Virginia National Historical Parks of the United States National Register of Historic Places in James City County, Virginia Parks in James City County, Virginia Parks in Virginia Beach, Virginia Parks in Williamsburg, Virginia Parks in York County, Virginia Protected areas established in 1930 National Park Service areas in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Cemeteries in James City County, Virginia Cemeteries in York County, Virginia Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia 1930 establishments in Virginia United States national cemeteries American Revolution anniversaries Virginia historical anniversaries