In 1607, Captain John Smith and his band of colonists landed in what is now Jamestown, Virginia, and established the first permanent English settlement in North America. In 1939, Billy Smith, Taylor's step-father and a passionate preservationist with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, moved his family to the island. In this warm, accessible book, Taylor recounts a childhood surrounded by history and those striving to conserve it. From anecdotal tales of crabbing and fishing on the James River to stories of the dedication of those who made the area what it is today, this book offers a refreshing look at the history of one of the nation's best-preserved landmarks, historic Jamestowne.