The history of this National Landmark began in 1528 when Panfilo de Narvaez arrived in the area with 300 men; however, the first fort was not built until 1679. Andrew Jackson occupied the fort for a brief time in the early 1800s. The museum at the park displays pottery and tools unearthed near the original fort and explains the history of the San Marcos site.
The park offers exhibits and tours.
Billingsley House Museum is a brick Tidewater Colonial plantation house that sits on 430 acres overlooking the confluence of the Patuxent River and the Western Branch. The house and land were named for Major John Billingsley, the original 1662 land grant owner. Even though Major Billingsley never lived on the property and there have been 27 title adjustments over its long history, the name "Billingsley" remains. The present house was built around 1740 by the prominent Weems family on or very near the site of an older 1695 house built by Colonel James Hollyday, first Chief Justice of the Prince George's County Court.
The house offers tours.
Two hundred years ago, when the first overland immigrants from Mexico passed through this area under the leadership of Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, they saw a fertile valley, well watered by springs and even a small river that ran into San Jacinto Lake. Now, the river has been diverted and several of the springs have disappeared. The Regional Indian Museum, located in the park, offers a look into the lives of the native peoples who lived in the area before the Spanish habitation.
The museum offers tours and exhibits.
The Graveyard is the site of the tombs of Augustine Warner and members of the Warner and Lewis Families. Among the descendants of Warner are George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Warner Hall Graveyard is located south of Warner Hall Plantation.
The graveyard is open to the public.
Historic Jamestowne is the site of the first permanent English settlement in America. Visitors begin their visit at the Visitor Center with exhibits and an immersion theater experience. They can then tour the Archaearium, which tells the story of James Fort through archaeology; share the moment of discovery with archaeologists and witness archaeology-in-action at the 1607 James Fort excavation; tour the reconstructed 17th-century Jamestown Memorial Church and original 17th-century church tower; take a walking tour with a park ranger through the New Towne area along the scenic James River; "meet" a 17th-century personality; and watch costumed glassblowers at the Glasshouse. A driving tour explores the lush natural setting where exhibits explain how the settlers harnessed that wilderness for their needs.
The site offers exhibits, tours, living history demonstrations and events, and educational and recreational events and programs.
Built sometime between 1751 and 1765, the story-and-a-half brick house is laid in Flemish bond and was home to Jacob Faulcon and his family. It has been fully restored and has a fine collection of English and American furnishings. Today, visitors can see the site of the retreat fort, the house, and its small herb garden.
The house offers tours.
With its cruciform shape, triple chimneys, and curvilinear gables, Bacon's Castle is a rare surviving example of Jacobean architecture in America. Built in 1665, the house was home to a prosperous planter, Arthur Allen. Visitors today can step back to the late 17th and early 18th century through the doors of Bacon's Castle. Using the Allen's inventories from 1711 and 1755, furnishings have been selected to interpret daily life.
The house offers tours.
Once typical of courthouses across Virginia, this is one of only four remaining arcaded colonial court buildings. Built in 1750, it features a distinctive semi-circular apse popular in English churches of the era.
The courthouse is open to the public.
Francis Thelaball II built this house with its massive chimneys in 1725. Typical of early colonial planters' homes, the Lynnhaven House features a hall-parlor plan with molded ceiling joists and a closed string Jacobean-type stair. Furnishings reflect the early 18th century. Costumed docents conduct tours of the House and grounds as guests arrive. On the grounds are gardens and a small Revolutionary War graveyard.
The house offers short films, tours, exhibits, and recreational and educational events.
The buildings include the old 1731 Courthouse, 1731 Clerk's Office, and 1814 prison. The complex is distinguished by original fittings and furnishings. The Clerk's Office contains legal records dating from 1632.
The site offers exhibits.