Reconstruction of the barracks at Historic Jamesetowne, Colonial National Historical Park

Old Town Main Page

The very first discovery by William Kelso when he began excavations at Jamestown in 1994 was a pit that contained numerous artifacts from the early 1600s. As the excavation area expanded, the outline of a long, narrow building was found. This is thought to be a barracks and the pit its cellar. In 2006, a reconstruction of what the barracks may have looked like was built on the site. The structure was based on construction methods for such a building as was common to the Lincolnshire area of England, home to both John Smith and the colony’s carpenter. In 2020 the original structure, which has deteriorated over the years, will be dismantled and replaced with a new one.