Sonya Sanderson and Kayla Henry drove about 40 minutes from the Southside to find the Jamestown Visitor Center at Colonial National Historical Park closed due to the federal government shutdown that started at midnight when lawmakers failed to make an agreement to keep the government running.
Before making the drive over the bridge-tunnel and up the Peninsula, the two college students and self-described history buffs made a much longer journey — a nearly-day-long drive from Oklahoma City.
Sanderson said they came to visit with her family and were also excited to take the opportunity to see the foundations of American history. She and Henry both said they were particularly interested in pre-Civil War history.
But the shutdown didn’t make the day a total wash — even though they couldn’t see the visitor center, Sanderson and Henry had plenty of other opportunities to take in Jamestown.
Jamestown Rediscovery, on behalf of Preservation Virginia, manages Historic Jamestowne with the National Park Service, and the rediscovery portions of the island remained open. The shutdown only closed parks service facilities, like the National Park visitor centers at Jamestown and Yorktown and trails and Island Drive on Jamestown Island.
Around midday, a few dozen visitors milled around First Church and the James Fort site and worked their way to the Archaerium museum.
Elle Reid and Debbie Boll with Jamestown Rediscovery set up a table with information behind the visitor center to let people know they could still visit. The only things in the building they needed were their computers to charge admission — on Saturday, all visitors were welcomed for free.
“We don’t see a need to prevent people from seeing it,” Reid said.
Reid said that while Island Road was closed, some people were still going out on the trails. She said the park service advised people they were going out at their own risk.
During the last federal government shutdown in 2013, the park service had to block off access and parking to the entire visitor center, and Jamestown Rediscovery had to direct people to park on grass on its property.
“It’s a little better this time,” Reid said.
Ken and Gosia Alexander came from Seattle to visit Ken’s brother Howard Alexander and his wife Karen in Newport News. The group was disappointed in the shutdown limiting what was available to see on the island, but enjoyed being able to take in the outdoor exhibits on a nice day.
They agreed they weren’t as worried about the shutdown affecting their trip as they were worried about federal government employees.
Karen Alexander said her daughter called her frantically in the morning, worrying about her husband, a Navy submariner.
Ken Alexander, who works for Veterans Affairs, said the 2013 shutdown sent some of his co-workers into a panic. They weren’t sure if they’d get paid at the time, but they ended up getting paid retroactively. Ken Alexander said the shutdown was frustrating because it just stops Veterans Affairs and other departments and agencies from serving the mission.
Howard Alexander joked that this may just mean an extended vacation for his brother.
Inside the Archaerium, Amber Phelps manned one of several tables with interactive exhibits. Her exhibit consisted of shattered pottery that kids could try to piece together, imitating the mending process a preservationist may have to do with artifacts.
January and February are usually the slowest months for Jamestown, but the turnout Saturday was strong — she was glad people, particularly families, came because they put extra effort into the interactive exhibits.
Some people came unaware of the shutdown and others headed to the Jamestown Rediscovery Area when they saw Island Road was closed.
During the federal government shutdown of 2013, closed National Parks and National Monuments became a symbol of government dysfunction.
Leading up Friday night, officials were working on guidelines to keep parks open in some capacity as legislators tried to salvage an agreement to keep the government running, according to the Washington Post. In most cases, parks are still accessible, but amenities that require staffing are not available.
Reid said Jamestown Rediscovery was figuring out a way to charge admission without the visitor center. Boll said they had about a day to prepare and took just about everything they needed out of the office. She and Reid each forgot one thing, though.
Like many others across the country, they had to wait and see when lawmakers could come to an agreement so they could retrieve what they’d left in federal building — their name tags.
