Word has been trickling in from points across the region about the damage
wrought by hurricane Isabel.  Fragile historic and archaeological sites
seem to have fared well, although their landscapes did not.

Generally most sites report damage in the form of downed trees and loss of
power and phone lines.  I have not heard reports of damaged buildings and
sites, except in a few cases.

Jamestown Island is closed, with considerable damage from the flood surge
to the National Park infrastructure and collections.  The APVA excavations
are reported to have survived due to lots of hard work and plenty of time
to prepare, and their collections care facility is above the 500 year flood
plane, although water came to within a foot of their top step.  The NPS
property did not fare so well.  The floods removed bridges, inundated the
visitor's center and they will spend the next few years and hundreds of
thousands of dollars conserving the salt water damage to collections and
records.  The visitor's center was slated for demolition in a couple years
in anticipation for opening a new center for the 2007 celebrations, but the
building is uninhabitable due to the damage and will be demolished
immediately.  Trees are down all over the island but I have not heard of
any damage to the several civil war sites that circle the island.

Henricus Historical Park is closed until further notice, with many downed
trees and no communication with the outside world.  None of their buildings
were damaged and most of the trees are still standing, so don't think the
whole place is flattened.  I was there the other day and a lot of it has
been cleaned up, but it is still not safe to venture there.  The ruins of
the light keeper's house were hit by a large hackberry but were only
slightly damaged.  Programs have been postponed but so far not cancelled.

Most historic houses along the James River fared well but lost trees.  The
problem most faced were the storm surges of up to 15 feet above
flood.  Docks and waterfront facilities are essentially gone, with everyone
on a mad search for their docks and boats!  Things were swept up river with
the surge and then sucked back down afterwards, with docks and boats stuck
in trees or dozens of miles up or down stream.

The grand oak at the Museum of the Confederacy / Confederate White House
came down and will be turned into commemorative pieces.

Reports have not been received from many quarters, but it is suspected most
museums and sites survived OK.

It must be remembered that this area sees hurricanes every few decades or
less, so the survival rate of what is old and still standing is pretty
good.  It was the saturated soils that caused the downing of many trees,
and we were all warned of that ahead of time by the weather experts.

Within  a few days things were back to normal for many of us ...:
http://users.erols.com/weiskotten/ChesterfieldCourthouseDig2003100dpi5x7.jpg

... but then again, without electricity for nearly two weeks, what else was
there to do but DIG!

        Dan W.