Long before microwaves, electric stoves and refrigerators, early Virginians prepared meals in clay pots and iron kettles and preserved food by smoking and salt curing.

This Thanksgiving holiday, join in a 40-year tradition by digging into the foodways of 17th- and 18th-century during Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia. Explore centuries-old culinary practices and cooking techniques of early Virginia during a two-day event, Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30.

Jamestown Settlement

Discover how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia’s English colonists and Powhatan Indians. Enjoy cooking demonstrations throughout the day in re-creations of Paspahegh Town, a colonial fort and along the ships’ pier. (Food preparation in the outdoor living-history areas is for demonstration purposes.)

Paspahegh Town

See venison, turkey and other game roast over an open fire, while stews of corn, beans and squash cook in clay pots. Learn the importance of corn to the Powhatan Indians and the variety of dishes in which it was used, including corncakes and corn dumplings. Throughout the day, discover how Powhatan Indians made stone and bone tools used to obtain and prepare food.

James Fort

See the culinary skills English colonists brought to Virginia as historical interpreters bake bread in a Devon oven and demonstrate open-hearth cooking of pudding, pies and pottage, based on historical recipes of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At each day at 4:15 p.m., learn about European military tactics during artillery drills.

Ships’ Pier

Along the ships’ pier, explore how the colony was provisioned. Throughout the day, see typical sailors’ fare of salted fish and meat, biscuit and dried foods, and discover the kinds of fresh provisions that sailors picked up along their island stops on the way to Jamestown.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

Explore how Continental Army soldiers earned their rations and witness the bounty of produce and proteins fresh from the fields transformed into stews, pies and breads.

Enjoy cooking demonstrations throughout the day in re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm.

Continental Army Encampment

Discover how soldiers tried to turn meager rations of dried beans, salted meat and hard bread into nourishing soups and stews on an earthen kitchen modeled after specifications in Baron von Steuben’s 1779 “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.”

Revolution-era Farm

A variety of dishes for the farm’s owners and enslaved people will be prepared daily using 18th-century open-hearth cooking techniques and recipes. See how their traditional fares were similar in some ways and different in others. Explore the methods used by farming families to preserve and store goods through the lean winter months.

Discover authentic colonial recipes of Virginia

Holiday shopping in museum stores

Just in time for holiday shopping, museum shops offer an assortment of inspirational gifts and books – period cookbooks to historical accounts – as well as unique ornaments, handmade items, prints, museum reproductions, educational toys, games and souvenirs relating to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Visit the museum shops in person, open during museum hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All purchases support the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and its educational mission and programs.

About the Museums

Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s days. Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 near the Colonial Parkway in James City County, just southwest of Williamsburg and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne. The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, near Yorktown Battlefield and Historic Yorktown.

The museums allow visitors of all ages to enjoy extensive indoor gallery exhibits and outdoor living-history areas to connect with the stories of our shared history. Experience the holidays with a variety of tickets available online or in person. An Annual Pass makes a great holiday gift and offers unlimited visits to the museums plus daytime events and exhibits for one year. Plan your visit today or call (757) 253-4838 for more information.