Jamestown Exposition

White text on a blue background with a gold circle in the center with an American flag on it and an outer gold edge with white lines

The 1907 Jamestown Exposition commemorated the 300^th anniversary of the first Permanent English settlement in America. It was held at Sewell’s Point on Hampton Roads, in Norfolk, Virginia. The Exposition began on April 26, 1907 which marked exactly 300 years after the English colonists made their first landing in Virginia. Upon its closing on November 30, 1907, it was attended by over 1.4 million paid visitors, including President Theodore Roosevelt who opened the Exposition.

The Exposition developers faced many challenges early on in their planning. For starters, the isolated location of Sewell’s Point meant that new roads and rail lines had to be built to reach the site by land. The problems continued as half the site encountered electrical issues on the opening day. In the end, the 1907 Exposition was deemed a financial failure with a loss of over two million dollars.