Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-05-17

y
III Preservation Society has
! awakened interest in a sec
~ ton of our country where
English civilization in this
western hemisphere was first
planted. This is the memorial upon
which it is hoped favorable action will
be taken:
Whereas, the first permanent Eng
fish settlement within the boundaries
of the present United States of Amer
lea was made on the peninsula of
jamestown, on the James river, in the
state of Virginia, on the 18th day of
May, 1907; and
Whereas, the said Jamestown was
the scene of important operations dur
ing the revolutionary and civil wars,
of which latter conspicuous fortifica-
tons remain: and
Whereas, the complete obliteration
of this historic site is threatened by
the elements, which have already COLI
verted the peninsula into an island
and have worn away SO much of the
shores that many of the foundations of
the original settlement are now buried
beneath the encroaching river; and.
Whereas, in the year 1907 the peo-
pie of the United States, under the
leadership of the people of Virginia,
will celebrate with becoming ceremon-
les the tercentenary of the settlement
of this country by the English; there
fore, be 1T
Resolved That the American
Scenic and Historic Preservation So
ciety hereby requests the Congress of
the United States, as an evidence of
respect for the traditions of the ma
ton, to authorize the purchase of
jamestown island for a national park,
in order that it may be preserved from
destruction and thrown open to the
people as a memorial of the birthplace
.of American civilization and the plant
ing of the colonies from which sprang
the United States of America"
jamestown, or, more properly, the
once thriving settlement of that name,
was on the James river, about so miles
from its mouth. Originally on a pen
insula, the current of the river has
gardually worn it's way through the
sandy soil, until the peninsula is now
an island, some three miles long, but
whose boundaries are narrowing year
by year by the activity of the rush
ing river.
Older residents point far out in the
river to the roots of trees which once
old powder magazine, one of the land
marks of jamestown for many years,
now lies beneath the river, and year
after year have the ruins of James
towns houses vanished beneath the
tide.
The early history of jamestown is
shrouded in mystery, and the magma
ton must picture many details of this
first English settlement within the
borders of the United States.
The early colonists arrived in three
vessels, and anchored at a point called
by the Indians the Powhattan river.
The settlement was called jamestown,
in honor of their ruler. 1t must have
been a thriving town, for old records
tell of a church and state house; the
Governors house and gardens. brick
mill and a block house and many pre-
tentious houses of brick.
Although the first settlement, on
May 13, 1907, was at the western end
of the island. traces of a general oc-
cupation have been discovered scat
tered over the entire peninsula. Elk
cavations have revealed foundations
and relics of the ancient colony il
abundance. Spiked balls, armor,
swords, halberds. cooking utensils
glass bottles and fragments of human
skeletons are grim reminders of this
first colony on the continent of Amer
lea.
The most imposing ruin of James
town is the massive tower of the old
church which marks the site of the
first church and the first fort This