JAMESTOWN, Va. (WVEC) — They're preserving a piece of history in Jamestown.
Archeologists with Jamestown Rediscovery are working to restore the Memorial Church, built in 1906. It's all possible thanks to a donation from The National Society of Colonial Dames of America, who originally funded the church more than 100 years ago.
Underneath the old church is believed to be an even earlier 17th-century church, built in 1617.
Director of Archeology at Historic Jamestown David Givens says the 1617 church is where the first representative government assembly in English America gathered in 1619.
Archeologists with Jamestown Rediscovery say the plan is to build a museum in the old church. The exhibits will allow visitors to see the exact spot where that historic meeting took place.
“Archeology is peeling back layers of history,” Givens said. “We're trying to preserve archeology for the future.”
Givens and other archeologists just wrapped up two years of excavations inside the church. Recently, archeologists believe they found the remains one of the colony's first leaders, Sir George Yeardley. Yeardley oversaw the first representative government assembly in English America in 1619.
The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America has a long history with Jamestown and specifically, the Memorial Church on the island. In 1906, the NSCDA provided funds to re-erect a Memorial Church to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first permanent English Settlement in North America. The church was presented to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), now Preservation Virginia, in 1907.
“The construction of the Jamestown Memorial Church was the first preservation project undertaken by the NSCDA and is a project that is near to our hearts,” said Anna Duff, President of the NSCDA. “Jamestown was the cradle of democracy and it is important for us as an organization to continue our preservation efforts in collaboration with Historic Jamestown.”
Givens hopes to have the museum open to the public by March 2019.