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Jamestown Day
May 9 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Jamestown Day at Jamestown Settlement
📅May 9, 2026
🕞9 AM – 5 PM
📍Jamestown Settlement
Families are invited to mark the anniversary of the 1607 founding of Founding of Jamestown with family-friendly programs, military salutes, and maritime and interpretive demonstrations at Jamestown Settlement. Visitors can board the Godspeed at the ships’ pier to discover how sailors navigated the seas in the 17th century, and, weather permitting, watch the Discovery demonstrate sailing maneuvers on the James River. In re-creations of James Fort and Paspahegh Town, guests can take part in hands-on experiences exploring foodways, military tactics, and daily life in early Virginia.
This commemoration continues a long tradition of honoring Jamestown’s founding, with notable observances held every 50 years since 1807 and attended by influential figures such as Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and U.S. Presidents John Tyler, Theodore Roosevelt, and George W. Bush. In 1957, Jamestown Festival Park–now Jamestown Settlement–opened for the anniversary celebration, and Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit the Williamsburg area, returning again for the 400th anniversary in 2007.
Indoors, visitors can watch the docudrama 1607: A Nation Takes Root, shown every 30 minutes, and explore immersive gallery exhibits featuring artifacts, interactives, and films that tell the story of the Virginia Company, the Powhatan peoples, and the arrival of the first recorded West Central Africans in 1619. Outdoors, guests can continue their journey through history by exploring Paspahegh Town and the fort, and boarding re-creations of the ships that arrived in Virginia in 1607.
Admission tickets are available online or in person at Jamestown Settlement, with value-priced combination tickets also offered for the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free, and residents of James City County, York County, and the City of Williamsburg–including William & Mary students–receive free admission with proof of residency.
In honor of Jamestown Day on May 13, members of the military–veterans, active duty, reserve, and retired personnel, along with up to three direct family members–receive free admission to Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown with valid military identification. For more information, see here.
