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Jamestown in James City County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Blockhouses Near Jamestown

 
 
Blockhouses Near Jamestown Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 20, 2013
1. Blockhouses Near Jamestown Marker
Inscription. In the first few years of the English settlement at Jamestown, colonists built small, isolated, fortified structures—called blockhouses—around the perimeter of the main settlement to provide refuges, observation posts, and rallying points in the case of attack. On 29 Mar. 1611, Paspahegh Indians, who consistently resisted the English incursion into their territory, attacked the blockhouse near here, killing the soldiers stationed there. The attack was in retaliation for the Feb. killing of their leader Wowinchapuncke. On 20 May 1611, Sir Thomas Dale directed the raising of another blockhouse “on the north side of our back river to prevent the Indians from killing our cattle.”
 
Erected 2011 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number WT-3.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial EraForts and CastlesIndigenous Peoples and CommunitiesSettlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is May 20, 1611.
 
Location. 37° 13.624′ N, 76° 47.022′ W.
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Marker is in Jamestown, Virginia, in James City County. It is on Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 31) south of Greensprings Road ( Route 614), on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Williamsburg VA 23185, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula, in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Tidewater, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Argall Town (a few steps from this marker); French Troops At Jamestown (a few steps from this marker); Lafayette's Visit (within shouting distance of this marker); Georgia (about 400 feet away,
Blockhouses Near Jamestown Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 20, 2013
2. Blockhouses Near Jamestown Marker
measured in a direct line); Connecticut (about 400 feet away); Maryland (about 400 feet away); Massachusetts (about 400 feet away); South Carolina (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jamestown.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 21, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,038 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on July 21, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
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Aug. 17, 2026