Beautiful Present, Problematic Past

This week I had the opportunity to work in the interpretation division. Interpretation is about building intellectual and emotional synapses between Colonial Historical National Park visitors and the parks significance. I was fortunate enough to work in both the Yorktown Battlefield where part of the Revolutionary War  took place, and Historic Jamestown where the very first permanent settlement built a fort.

My first task was to drive the tour roads in the park and learn about the 12 events that lead up to America’s triumphant win. There are 16 miles of tour roads that are separated into 3 driving loops. I was also fortunate enough to view the parks gallery which displayed artifacts such as buttons and guns that were excavated from the battlefield. There was also a verbal tour from one of our park rangers who told us a detailed manifesto of the strategies and thought processes of the British, the French, and the English. After those events, I was able to help out at the front desk and give park visitors the itinerary of events for the day, and provide directions to certain sites. I met a lot of amazing people from all parts of the country.

Original Earthwork, Yorktown Battlefield

After I learned about Yorktown Battlefield, I traveled to Jamestown Island in goals to gain information about the historic events that had taken place. In return, I was able to give information about the events going on inside the park. My first task at Historic Jamestown was to tour the island that featured landmarks that provided information about the natural landscape and plants in the area. Jamestown had the most beautiful landscape, however it had the most darkest past.

Jamestown was ridden of slavery and starvation, and the historic fort that was built by Capitan John Smith would only last a short amount of time due to the lack of food and fresh water. From 1609-1610, 75% of the population perished from malnourishment, in fact, Jamestown settlement was the earliest record of human cannibalism to this day. When the colonists finally found a consistent resource to make money off of, which was tobacco, the slave trade into Jamestown began. It is still not recorded how many slaves were brought into the fort, however the archeologists at Jamestown are actively finding slaves as I am telling this story. Additionally, many of the streets in Yorktown were named after members of the English Royal Africa Company, which was a slave trade company that played a significant role in the selling of Africans in Jamestown.

Salty Swamp, Jamestown Island

Despite its rough past, Historic Jamestown Island and Yorktown Battlefield remain a beautiful place of earthworks, greenery, and wildlife.