Jamestowne
Jamestowne, the site of the first permanent British settlement
in North America, was founded on May 13, 1607 on a peninsula in the
James River in Virginia. As part of a business venture, three ships,
Discovery, Susan Constant, and Godspeed, brought
Captain John Smith (ca.1580-1631) and the first settlers to
the site. Smith is perhaps best known for having been captured by
the Indian Chief, Powhatan, and rescued by Pocahontas (ca.1595-1617).
Named in honor of King James I, the colony initiated the cultivation
of tobacco, established the first representative government on the
continent, built the first Protestant church in America, and was the
first English speaking capital in America.
Situated in an unhealthy marshy area, the colony
always had a small population because of a high death rate from disease.
In 1608 Jamestowne accidentally burned, and two years later it was
about to be abandoned by its inhabitants when Thomas West, Lord De
La Warr, arrived with new energy and new supplies. Jamestowne ultimately
fell into decay when the seat of government of Virginia moved in 1699
to the Middle Plantation, later called Williamsburg.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the peninsula had
become an island. Conservation efforts halted the erosion of the site,
and excavations uncovered valuable artifacts and structural traces
of the original fort. In 1936 the island was incorporated into the
Colonial National Historical Park, and seventeenth-century replicas
of buildings were built to re-create the original colonial atmosphere.
Herschel H. Helm
Herschel H. Helm was the Leader of The Washington and Northern Virginia
Company of Jamestowne Society for the years 1980-1993. As a strong
supporter of the Company and as a person who exemplified the ideals
of early Jamestowne, the Company has created a library of reasearch
materials for citizens, students, and scholars.
The Herschel H. Helm Jamestowne Collection
The Herschel H. Helm Jamestowne Collection comprises printed books
and pamphlets about the history of Jamestowne and its lasting influence
on the history and culture of the Commonwealth of Virginia and, subsequently,
on the United States. The collection is housed in Special Collections
& Archives and in Fenwick Library's general collection, at George
Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.
The Washington and Northern Virginia
Company of Jamestowne Society
The Washington and Northern Virginia Company of Jamestowne is a Company
of Jamestowne Society, which was founded
in 1936 "to discover and record the names of all living descendants
of those early settlers who made great sacrifices to establish our
English speaking nation; and to unite these descendants to honor the
memory of their settler ancestors, to record their deeds, and to do
homage to the birthplace of Virginia and the Nation." The Washington
and Northern Virginia Company, in turn, was founded in 1980. It currently
has over 100 members and has been the primary supporter of the Helm
Jamestowne Collection.
