Jamestown

9. Storehouse

Williamsburg, VA

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In 1610 William Strachey, the secretary of the colony, noted that "in the midst of [James Fort] is a market place, a store house, and a corps de garde." Near the center of the fort, archaeologists unearthed six large postholes that once supported what was most likely a large public building. This structure was at least 40 feet long by 16 feet wide. Most of the artifacts found within the postholes were objects made by Virginia Indians, which suggests that the building was erected during the early years of settlement. Researchers believe that this structure was probably the storehouse mentioned by Strachey in 1610. The original storehouse was used to store food supplies, munitions, tools and armor, as well as items that needed to be shipped back to England such as ore, timber, sassafras and later tobacco.