Jamestown Rediscovery Chancel Rail Plaques Remounted

The tower of the church on Jamestown Island dates to circa 1690 but by 1893, when the Association for Preservation of Virginia Antiquities acquired Jamestown Island, the ruins of the church tower were the only sign of what had been Virginia’s colonial capital until 1698. For the 300th anniversary of Jamestown settlement, in 1906 the National Society for Colonial Dames in America commenced reconstruction of the colonial church on its original foundations.

In 1957, for the 350th anniversary, further work was done. The General Society of Colonial Wars contributed the chancel rail for the reconstructed church, identified by a silver plate on the rail.

At the 400th Anniversary, the chancel rail was replaced and the plate stored. Jamestown Rediscovery returned plate to the rebuilt chancel rail in 2023 and added a second plaque to acknowledge the Society’s continuing support through its annual grant program.