where was jamestown located

Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement by the English in North America, was located on Jamestown Island in the James River in southeastern Virginia, about 40 miles (roughly 64 km) inland from the Atlantic coast and a few miles southwest of present-day Williamsburg.

Basic location

• Jamestown sat on the northeast bank of the James River, on a small island/peninsula in what is now the U.S. state of Virginia.

• Today it forms part of the “Historic Jamestowne” site within Colonial National Historical Park, near modern Williamsburg and Yorktown.

Why that spot?

• The colonists chose it because deep water close to shore made it easy for ships to anchor and unload, and the river bend created a defensible position.

• The location was also far enough inland to be less visible to rival European ships along the Atlantic coast, which they saw as a strategic advantage.

What it looks like today

• The original settlement area is now an archaeological site on Jamestown Island, with ruins, reconstructions, and museums interpreting the 1607 fort and town.

• Nearby, a living-history museum called Jamestown Settlement recreates the fort, ships, and Powhatan village just over a mile from the original site.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.