"Publick Days" (Henricus Historical Park)

This afternoon, on a gray Saturday, fired up the car (praying it would start) and rolled out to Henricus Historical Park for Publick Days. A big attraction was the replica ship "Godspeed" which made a visit to the park. Got to walk out on that ship, which was very interesting. Many of the crew were on there, and had a lot of good information on the voyage to Virginia (which I am told took 144 days!) and other voyages of the time. The ship was built according to the original plans. I was surprised to learn the ship was steered with a tiller rather than a ship's wheel. It was a beautiful replica of a long lost part of history.
The village was a sort of living history museum. Many of the people there played the roles of people of the time. Scene at left was a reenactment of a "Call to Arms". There were also blacksmiths, musicians, women doing laundry over kettles with boiling water (the Maytag of the day as one woman referred to it) and even people playing games of the time. I enjoyed the period buildings of the time, and the various crops such as tobacco, and the animals which all would have been part of daily life in 1611. In that year, 300 people lead by Sir Thomas Dale founded the settlement called "The Citie of Henricus" which was named for King James I eldest son.
I also enjoyed the Indian settlement which is "right next door". There was again much of the events which would have gone on in a village, as well as living areas, and cooking as seen in the photo at left.
The event was free (always good at times like these) with shuttle buses from the lots nearby. Best of all, if you have missed it today, there is another day to check it out tomorrow on Sunday September 20 from 10-5. Take Exit 61A near Chester and follow the signs to the park.
As I have often noted, the history to be found in Richmond and the surrounding region is nothing short of amazing. I had a great time today!