Editing Jamestown, Virginia (section)

===Preservation and early archaeology===
{{see also|Jamestown Rediscovery}}
[[File:Detroit Photographic Company (0845).jpg|thumb|Ruins of Jamestown Church at the turn of the 20th century, prior to the Tercentennial in 1907]]
In the years after the Civil War, Jamestown became quiet and peaceful once again. In 1892, Jamestown was purchased by Edward Barney. The following year, Barney donated 22½ acres of land, including the ruined church tower, to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, now known as [[Preservation Virginia]]. By this time, erosion from the river had eaten away the island's western shore. Visitors began to conclude that the site of James Fort lay completely underwater. With federal assistance, a [[sea wall]] was constructed in 1900 to protect the area from further erosion. The archaeological remains of the original 1607 fort, which had been protected by the sea wall, were not discovered until 1996.

In 1932, [[George C. Gregory|George Craghead Gregory]] of Richmond was credited with discovering the foundation of the first brick statehouse (capitol) building, circa 1646, at Jamestown on the land owned by Preservation Virginia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/popular/15/ps15-1.htm |title=NPS Publications: Popular Study Series |publisher=Nps.gov |date=October 20, 2001 |access-date=September 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106093527/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/popular/15/ps15-1.htm |archive-date=January 6, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> Around 1936, Gregory, who was active with the [[Virginia Historical Society]], founded the [[Jamestowne Society]] for descendants of stockholders in the [[Virginia Company of London]] and the descendants of those who owned land or who had domiciles in Jamestown or on Jamestown Island prior to 1700.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamestowne.org/ |title=Welcome to the Jamestowne Society! |publisher=Jamestowne.org |access-date=September 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961230060435/http://jamestowne.org/ |archive-date=December 30, 1996 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Colonial National Monument was authorized and established by the [[U.S. Congress]] in 1930. In 1934, the [[National Park Service]] obtained the remaining {{convert|1500|acre|ha|abbr=off}} portion of Jamestown Island which had been under private ownership by the Vermillion family. The National Park Service partnered with Preservation Virginia to preserve the area and present it to visitors in an educational manner. On June 5, 1936, the national monument was re-designated a [[national historical park]] and became known as [[Colonial National Historical Park]].

Beginning in 1936, [[J.C. Harrington]] worked on the NPS's excavations at Jamestown. In 1954, [[John L. Cotter]] took charge of field projects at Jamestown, conducted with the site's 350th anniversary (1957) in mind. Cotter worked with [[Edward B. Jelks]] and Harrington to survey the area's colonial sites. In 1957 Cotter and J. Paul Hudson co-authored [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16277/16277-h/16277-h.htm ''New Discoveries at Jamestown'']. Cotter contributed, along with Jelks, Georg Neumann, and Johnny Hack, to the 1958 report ''Archaeological Excavations at Jamestown''.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=Daniel G. |last2=Cotter |first2=John L. |year=1999 |title=A Conversation with John L. Cotter |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=6–50 |doi=10.1007/BF03374288 |jstor=25616685 |s2cid=164104247}}</ref>

In the present time, as part of the [[Colonial National Historical Park]], the Jamestown Island area is home to two heritage tourism sites related to the original fort and town. Nearby, the [[Jamestown-Scotland Ferry]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://virginiadot.org/travel/ferry-jamestown.asp |title=Jamestown-Scotland Ferry |publisher=Virginia Dot |access-date=September 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115180036/http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/ferry-jamestown.asp |archive-date=January 15, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> service provides a link across the navigable portion of the James River for vehicles and affords passengers a view of Jamestown Island from the river.