Collection and Exhibitions

Period artifacts provide a tangible link to the past in Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center gallery exhibits.  The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation has developed its collection to illustrate museum storylines, and collection items can be seen throughout the permanent galleries as well as in periodic special exhibitions.
 
While the Foundation’s collection philosophy emphasizes public education and exhibition, artifacts also are acquired for the purposes of preservation and research.  Objects are acquired for the collection with gifts from private donors.  The portion of the collection related to the Jamestown Settlement theme is comprised of 1,430 non-archaeological objects and approximately 179,000 archaeological objects reflecting Jamestown’s English origins, the early colonial period, the American Indian culture of southeastern Virginia and the African culture that arrived in Virgnia in the 17th century.  The portion of the collection related to the Yorktown Victory Center is comprised of 1,270 artifacts, mainly of the 18th century and representative of the American Revolution era and the early years of the new nation.
 
Special exhibitions offer opportunities for in-depth exploration of subject areas related to museum exhibition themes and to display artifacts on loan from institutions in the United States and abroad.