The Historic Triangle allows one to go back in time and relive history. The Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia marks major events in the story of America. There is a scenic 23-mile Colonial Parkway connecting Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement, Williamsburg became the new capital and Yorktown was where the final battle that secured liberty and independence for the citizens of America.
England’s King James I granted a charter to the Virginia Company in 1606. The mission was to establish a settlement in the Chesapeake region of the New World. Three ships landed at Cape Henry, VA in 1607 and proceeded up the river to establish the first permanent English settlement in America. The explorers named the river the James and the settlement Jamestown to honor the king who sent them.
In 1699, the capital of Virginia was moved from Jamestown to a location on high ground at Middle Plantation.. Middle Plantation was soon renamed Williamsburg, in honor of King William III. Williamsburg became the capital of Great Britain’s largest and richest colony. It was here that patriots such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington pursued lives of public service, and the idea of a free and independent country began.
Yorktown, named for the ancient city of York in Yorkshire, Northern England, was founded in 1691 as a port on the York River for English colonists to export tobacco to Europe. Yorktown was where General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington in 1781 in the last land battle of the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence signed in 1776 eventually led to a revolution that ended with the Battle of Yorktown ending England’s tyranny over the 13 original colonies and fulfilling the promise of July 4, 1776.
Colonial Parkway connects the three historic cities of Colonial Virginia with a scenic roadway. It’s easy to mentally return to the past on this beautiful road and it has views of waterway and natural areas with historical markers along the way.
