Jamestown 4-H Center
Jamestown 4-H Educational Center, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of youth and adult volunteers through innovative 4-H camping, environmental education, and leadership training.
Founded in 1928, Jamestown 4-H Center became the first fully dedicated 4-H Camp built in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Jamestown 4-H Educational Center annually hosts nine full weeks of summer camp, weekend specialty camps, environmental education programs, school field trips, family reunions, church retreats, and conferences. Jamestown 4-H Educational Center is a proudly accredited American Camping Association camp, and is in collaboration with Virginia Cooperative Extension and Character Counts. The 4-H Center is also a proud member of Network Williamsburg and Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance. The 4-H Center is located in Williamsburg, along the James River. We are within walking distance to both Historic Jamestown and the Capital Trail, less than one mile from the Colonial Parkway, less than 5 miles from Colonial Williamsburg, and 20 minutes from Yorktown.
Our campus has 4 cabins and 2 lodges . Each cabin has 2 large rooms with 14 bunk style beds, a smaller room with 2 single cots, and a bathroom with showers. Each lodge has 6 rooms with 8 bunk style beds, a large common room with 2 single cots, and 2 bathrooms with showers. Private dormitory style rooms are also available, with 2 single cots and a private bathroom, perfect for your special guest or bus driver! The campus also has a large dining hall, which seats up to 200. We also have a large recreation hall, which is perfect for talent shows, services, and large group break out sessions.
History
From 1928 to 1947
In 1928 Jamestown 4-H Educational Center was the first, fully-dedicated 4-H Camp built in the Commonwealth. The first six-acre camping site stood on the shores of the James River one mile north of Jamestown Island. The site, with its rustic wooden structures, was deeded to the 4-H organization by the C&O Railroad for the benefit of 4-H clubs and kindred organizations of the counties of the Commonwealth teaching better farming methods and domestic science. 4-H summer camps took place every summer between 1928 and 1946, with the exception being the World War II years of 1943 and 1944.
The original Jamestown 4-H camp property was later acquired by the National Park Service for its National Monumental Highway (Colonial National Historical Park) that connects Historic Jamestown Island NPS to Yorktown National Battlefield Park NPS. In 1942, the Jamestown 4-H Camp organization purchased a 16-acre parcel of land 1/2 mile up-river from the original site on land previously-owned by the C&O Railroad.
A New Home
Between 1948 and 1950 structures were built of wood frame and concrete blocks. Over the year many other buildings were built and renovated to meet the needs of modern campers..
In 1976, Jamestown 4-H Camp incorporated as Jamestown 4-H Educational Center with a governing body called the Corporate Membership. In 1982, the Corporate Membership made the decision to renovate and expand the existing facility.
The improvements and expansions of the 1980s gave the Center extensive recreational, meeting, and lodging facilities.
Today
From it’s early, agricultural roots, the Center not only continues over an 80-year tradition of fostering 4-H Campers into productive citizens with passions for environmentally-sensitive living practices, but also to help develop skills and interests in all science disciplines. In addition to the 4-H Campers who come to the Jamestown 4-H Educational Center, the Center also caters to private groups and organizations for their particular needs. The Center is fully-dedicated to serving those Extension Agents and 4-Hers from the Northeastern District of Virginia. All programming designed and administered by and accepted practices performed by the Center staff remain consistent with the core values of 4-H. The Center invites you to become apart of this extensive family and connect with our combined American heritage here at Jamestown.
Where we are
Jamestown 4-H Educational Center is located within walking distance to both Historic Jamestown and the Capital Trail, less than one mile from the Colonial Parkway, and less than 5 miles from Colonial Williamsburg, 20 minutes from Yorktown.
We are an exclusive, safe location that hosts educational, developmental team building and corporate events and 9 weeks of summer camp to 22 units in the state.
The 4-H property offers an unobstructed view of the James River, 2 Lodges that each sleep 50, 4 cabins that sleep 30, a Low Ropes Course, swimming pool, newly renovated amphitheater, fishing pier, living shoreline with a beach, dining and rec halls that can be used simultaneously by groups, multiple outdoor activities in a large recreational field typical of summer camps, acres of wooded property shielding us from development and a level of charm one can only experience first hand.
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