The English settlers in Virginia soon built a fort in order to protect themselves from raids by the Spanish and local Indians. The fort re-created here was described by an English settler in 1610 as triangular in shape with walls of planks and posts. Bulwarks or raised areas at each corner supported artillery. The earliest colonists were instructed to build the "public" building first - a storehouse to hold supplies and exports, an Anglican church, and a guardhouse as headquarters for military activity.
Activities at James Fort centered upon survival, military drills, the business of government, and attempts at profit-making. Difficulty obtaining a steady food supply often led to disease and death. Military training prepared the site for possible attack. The few women in Jamestown gardened, cooked, sewed, and did laundry. When the Virginia colony became better established, more activities moved outside of the fort walls.
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