Founding of the Jamestown settlement

Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in North America. In late 1606, three ships (Discovery, Godspeed and Susan Constant) set sail from England with a charter to establish a colony in the New World. They arrived in 1607 and soon settled on Jamestown Island in the James River. The site of the settlement is open to visitors today, and recently celebrated it's 400th anniversary.

For more on the topic, see features on the Mayflower and on Colonial Days in America.