Architectural Remains, Project 194, Structure 115, Jamestown, James City County, VA

Significance: Structure 115 was a two-story rowhouse block incorporating four identical units attached gable to gable. Each house had a chamber and parlor plan with a H-shaped chimneystack and a lobby-entry. The rowhouse block measured 165'6" x 24" overall. The rowhouses were constructed using public funds in ca. 1662 and damaged in 1676 during Bacon's Rebellion. In "ruins" in 1680 at least two of the units (the eastern most) were repaired shortly thereafter. The floor plans were altered at this time, moving the chimneys against the party walls and east gable. These changes are not depicted in the HABS drawings but are recorded in the field notes. The fourth dwelling - the easternmost or end unit - also had a large cellar and new porch tower along the south front.

One of the western units briefly served as a jailhouse in the third quarter of the seventeen century.

Archaeological evidence also reveals that the rowhouse block was made of bricks laid in English bond and the first-floor rooms were plastered. Both slates and clay pantiles were discovered on the site, suggesting two roof coverings during the structure's life span.


The structure was abandoned by the 1720s but likely earlier, around 1700, when the capital moved to Williamsburg. Archaeological evidence including wine bottle fragments, tobacco pipes, and English tin-glazed earthenware as well as evidence of fire in the charred sills.
Survey number: HABS VA-470
Building/structure dates: ca. 1662- before. 1668 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1680 Subsequent Work