JAMESTOWN — Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation announced it has received a Virginia 250 Preservation Fund Grant for $390,000 to support vital infrastructure projects around the site of America’s Birthplace.
As it looks ahead to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, as well as the
350th anniversary of Bacon’s Rebellion at Jamestown, the foundation said the funds will help make Jamestown’s history more cohesive and more accessible for all guests.
Visitors to Jamestown step into history through various points of interest, including the Memorial Church, the recreated James Fort, the Voorhees Archaearium Archaeology Museum, as well as behind-the-scenes programs in the Rediscovery Center at Yeardley House. Each of these is connected by gravel pathways of varying grades and elevations.
Support from the Virginia 250 Preservation Fund will allow the foundation to make crucial upgrades to this infrastructure to improve accessibility, visitor safety, and interpretation, it said.
Elevated and paved pathways will weave between points of interest at Jamestown, creating an onsite “capitol trail” to connect the first and last meeting places of representative government, according to the foundation. Elevating pathways will also allow visitor access across the site during flood events, which often submerge the current walkways to the museum and elsewhere.
“The original site of James Fort and the capitol buildings that came after it have been known to both researchers and the public for thirty years. Infrastructure projects like ensuring pathways are accessible and adding lighting and safety features to the site will help us continue telling the story of America’s Birthplace for the next thirty years and beyond,” said Jim Horn, Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation President.
Horn continued, “We’re grateful to the Virginia 250 Preservation Fund for their support.”
Work on these projects, including archaeological monitoring and mitigation, has begun in
earnest and the foundation expects work to be completed by July 2026.
