Church Tower

Church Tower. . The Jamestown Church had..."a tower and a bell" , , Francis Louis Michel, 1702, For centuries, the Church Tower ruin stood as the most iconic symbol of Jamestown's past. The structure survived despite fires, abandonment, occupation during the American Revolution and Civil War, and natural deterioration over time. Although the tower's construction date is still debated, current research suggests that it was built between the 1660-1690s, and was a later addition to the brick church started in 1639. The church and tower served until about 1750. when the congregation moved to a new church about three miles away., Gradually the site of the first permanent English settlement was reclaimed by farmland and woods, and the brick church crumbled. Only the ruinous tower endured as a reminder to sightseers that Jamestown was the capital of Virginia until 1699. Preservation Virginia (APVA) acquired the tower and 22.5 acres around it in 1893. The tower was stabilized, and a brick Memorial Church was constructed atop the adjacent brick church ruins for the 300th anniversary of Jamestown in 1907., During restoration efforts in 2013-14, 6000 handmade bricks and lime mortar were used to cap and repoint the three-foot-thick tower walls. In 2019, archaeology inside the tower revealed the western limit of the 1617 timber church., (captions) , The tower had three floors and functioned as a vestry with a belfry above , Excavations in the tower revealed the cobblestone and brick foundations of the 1617 timber church's west wall. , The iconic tower, a remnant from the 1600s, shown here pre-restoration in the late 19th century, when Preservation Virginia acquired the 22.5 acres of Jamestown Island and began preservation efforts