Jamestown Festival Park

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Jamestown Festival Park was established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1957 to mark the 350th anniversary of the founding of the settlement at Jamestown in the Virginia Colony in May, 1607.

[edit] History

In 1907, the Jamestown Exposition was held to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown in 1607. Due to transportation and other considerations which made the site of Jamestown impractical, the celebration was held at Sewell's Point in Norfolk County, Virginia, on the harbor of Hampton Roads. During World War I, the Exposition site became part of the US Navy base now known as Naval Station Norfolk.

For the 350th anniversary in 1957, a return to Jamestown itself (then an island) was considered more feasible. Attractions were developed by the US National Park Service and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

At the National Park Service site, the reconstructed Glasshouse, the Memorial Cross and the visitors center were completed and dedicated. The National Park Service's Colonial Parkway linking the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown was completed and opened to its full 32-mile length in April, 1957. An important feature was reconstruction of the land bridge to Jamestown Island.

At the state-sponsored facility, which was named Jamestown Festival Park, full-sized replicas of the three ships that brought the colonists, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and the Discovery were constructed at a shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, and docked at Jamestown, where became a permanent attraction to be both toured, and seen by water from the nearby Jamestown Ferry system operated by VDOT, and relocated for the festival to nearby Glass House Point.

Other events in 1957 included army and navy reviews, air force fly-overs, ship and aircraft christenings and even an outdoor drama at Cape Henry, site of the first landing of the settlers.

The 1957 celebration continued from April 1 to November 30 with over one million participants, including dignitaries and politicians such as the British Ambassador and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon. The highlight for many of the nearly 25,000 at the Festival Park on October 16, 1957 was the visit and speech of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and her consort, Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth loaned a copy of the Magna Carta for the exhibition.