Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown is a town in the United States. It was founded on May 13, 1607, by about 100 men and boys and women who came to Virginia from London, England. They named the town Jamestown after King James. These men hoped to find gold and silver in order to become rich. There was no gold or silver in the land because of it's geography, which they did not understand at the time. However, they did find out that they could make lots of money from growing and selling tobacco crops, due to the marshy soil. Soon, they were making their fortune from tobacco instead of gold. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in what would become the United States. The town was built on Jamestown Island along the James River. This location was selected because the local Native American tribes did not live on the island. Built on a peninsula, it was a good place to defend themselves from other European colonists.