Yeardley House

Jamestown, VA   

The Yeardley House was built in 1907 by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and presented as a gift to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America on Jamestown Island. The Yeardley (pronounced Yard’lee) House was named for Sir George Yeardley, who became Governor in 1619 and presided over the first democratic assembly in The New World. This building currently houses the staff and collections for the APVA “Jamestown Rediscovery” archaeological project on the island, and is currently being expanded to include the Jamestown records of the National Park Service. A new building, called the “Archaearium,” is being built over the archaeological excavations of the State House building adjacent to the Yeardley House Garden, and is expected to be a major visitor destination on the Island. In the 1920s a garden was added to the front, or river, side of the Yeardley House. This garden was conceived of as a rose garden, with a rose from each state in the union on display. Over the years, the garden fell in to decline. The roses have disappeared, and only gravel walks, the central sundial, and some of the perimeter boxwoods survive. The Garden Club of Virginia accepted a request from the APVA to renovate and restore the Yeardley House Garden in time for the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Jamestown in 2007. The plan is to retain the original shape and limits of the garden, as well as its central sundial. To make the garden useful for events, a central oval will be left open as lawn. A new brick walk will surround this grass oval. Two metal trellises will support climbing roses on each side of the garden, and small shade and ornamental trees will surround the central lawn. The boxwood perimeter will be reestablished, and the boxwood will be trimmed to allow a view to the James River from within the garden. This garden will be a tribute to the preservation efforts of both the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and The Garden Club of Virginia.