Prelude to Juneteenth: Reclaiming the River & Paddle the River – Get Tickets!
Prelude to Juneteenth: Reclaiming the River & Paddle the River at the Jamestown Settlement on June 15, 2025 – Get Tickets!
Set sail through history!
‘Reclaiming the River’ Movie – Free • 1 pm
Paddle the River • 3 – 5:30 p.m
Join the journey at Jamestown Settlement on Sunday, June 15 at 1 p.m. for an afternoon of powerful storytelling, a compelling film, and a guided river paddle.
Explore the untold stories of central Virginia’s rivers and the fragile path to freedom — from 17th-century Jamestown all the way to Juneteenth. It’s history with heart, on the water and beyond.
‘Reclaiming the River’ Movie – Free
You need to get a ticket for this movie – even though it is free Reserve Your Seat
“Reclaiming the River: African American Life on Virginia’s Waterways,” sheds light on African American contributions to river life of early America. Producer Horace Scruggs will share the process of creating the film and lessons that can be learned from the convergence of history, culture and the environment. The film was supported by Virginia Humanities.
Scruggs, who retired from public education in 2020, produced a documentary film about African American history of Fluvanna County, which was featured by the Fluvanna County Arts Council, Montpelier Juneteenth celebration and Maupintown Film Festival in Charlottesville, Va.
His other Virginia Humanities films focus on the social, cultural and economic impact of American slavery in central Virginia, the land of his ancestors. Using still photography, video, traditional and drone cameras, he offers scenes that are personal, impactful and support the historical efforts of other local organizations.
Admission to Jamestown Settlement is free to attend Juneteenth programming. Advance registration is required to view the “Reclaiming the River” film.
Paddle the River • 3 – 5:30 p.m. • $35 per person
After the film presentation, paddle out on Jamestown area waterways. The group, limited to 15 participants, will launch from the James City County Marina at 3 p.m. and return at approximately 5:30 p.m. Paddlers must be age 15+ and do not need to be expert kayakers but should be familiar with water safety and be comfortable on the river.
Tickets are $35 per person. Kayaks, paddles and life jackets will be provided by the James City County Parks and Recreation and are included in the program cost. Advance registration is required.
Juneteenth at Jamestown Settlement
Admission to Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is free on June 19, the official Juneteenth holiday.
Background on Juneteenth:
Juneteenth is rooted in Galveston, Texas, where in June 1865, word of the Emancipation Proclamation was finally shared with some of the last enslaved people to hear they had been freed. However, the Proclamation’s first reading in a Southern state was on the Virginia Peninsula, in the city of Hampton in 1863. In the preceding centuries, enslaved people sought freedom through the courts, military service and other forms of self-emancipation.
Juneteenth at Jamestown Settlement
Juneteenth celebrates liberation from a system of slavery with origins in Jamestown, Va. – as the place where the first recorded Africans in 1619 were brought after landing at Old Point Comfort and where the first slave laws enacted in the mid-17th century impacted the lives and status of Africans and their descendants.
Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., museum guests can explore African and African American experiences in 17th-century Virginia through expansive gallery exhibits, dramatic films and engaging interactives that share the story of Virginia Indian, English and West Central African cultures.
Using period artifacts and innovative technology, exhibits share historical accounts of the first documented Africans taken from their homeland in Ndongo (Angola) in 1619 to life in the Virginia colony and the evolution of a new African American culture. The “From Africa to Virginia” multimedia presentation chronicles African encounters with Europeans, impact on African culture and the development of the transatlantic slave trade.
The documentary film, “1607: A Nation Takes Root,” is shown every 30 minutes in Presentation Hall. The film traces the evolution of the Virginia Company that sponsored the Jamestown colony, examines the relationship between the English colonists and Powhatan Indians, and chronicles the arrival of the first recorded Africans in 1619 – including the story of Angelo, one of the first African women named in Jamestown’s historical record.
Admission to Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is free on June 19, the official Juneteenth holiday.
Juneteenth Community Events
Learn more about organizations in the Greater Williamsburg Area with a common goal to educate, commemorate and celebrate the end of slavery in America, and explore a full calendar of Juneteenth events.
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