Virginia: the Old Dominion As seen from its colonial waterway, the historic river James, whose every succeeding turn reveals country replete with monuments and scenes recalling the march of history and its figures from the days of Captain John Smith to the present time

"Virginia: the Old Dominion" by Frank W. Hutchins, a history book, tells of a family's houseboat trip on the James River in the early 1900s, where their journey becomes a way to revisit Virginia's past from the perspective of the early settlers who came before. The story begins with the houseboat, Gadabout, leaving Norfolk, and follows a family of three as they get ready for their trip up the James River, excited about what they will find. Through their trip, they think about the challenges that Captain John Smith and the colonists dealt with, who set up Jamestown, the very first English colony in North America. By carefully combining their own experiences with facts about what happened at Jamestown, they create both an adventurous and historical tone for the reader.