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Together, it gives the newly constructed walkway a historic appearance. About 20 cruise ships make brief stops at Yorktown’s pier each year. Day visitors can take a sightseeing cruise May through October aboard the Miss Yorktown (tel. 757-879-8276) or the Yorktown Lady (tel. 757-229-6244). Riverwalk passes by the old Freight Shed, which was originally the steamboat landing and later housed the Yorktown Post Office. In spring 2002 the building was moved closer to the street to protect it from the beach erosion, and plans are to renovate it as an historic tourist attraction.

About a block farther along Riverwalk, The Watermen’s Museum preserves and interprets the traditions of fishing, crabbing, oystering and clamming – trades by which a hardy few still make their living. During the Watermen’s Heritage Celebration, third Sunday in May, they display the skills and boats that have evolved over two centuries. Exhibits tell of local aquaculture and African-American boat pilots who participated in the Battle of Yorktown. Schoolchildren love the nine-foot jawbone of a right whale that swam up the North River in Gloucester County in 1858. Their challenge is to locate the “tail of the whale” two rooms away, a graphic illustration of the length of a 43-foot-long whale.

The museum building itself is a conversation piece. Donated by a wealthy Gloucester couple in 1987, it needed to be floated across the York River to its present location. Local legend holds that en route, the barge carrying the building got caught up on a shoal. Veteran watermen who were called upon to aid advised simply waiting for high tide at the full moon, just a few days away. They did, and under power of gravitational pull between earth and moon, the house floated free. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-4 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm, April-November; and weekends only the rest of the year. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for students. (tel. 757-887-2641, www.wa­ter­mens.org)

Future plans involve extending Riverwalk to the Yorktown Victory Center, making all of Yorktown’s historic sites pedestrian-friendly. The Victory Center’s re-created Continental Army Camp and a 1780s farm bring the Revolutionary period to life. Interpreters demonstrate 18th-century life, medical techniques, cooking and musket firing. You can even lend a hand tending the farm’s garden. The center is open 9 am-5 pm daily, year-round; closed Christmas and New Year’s days. Admission is $8.25 for adults and $4 for children ages six-12. (tel. 888-593-4682, www.historyisfun.org)

Other Attractions

The Gallery at York Hall opened in 2002 in York Hall at Main and Ballard Streets. Themed exhibits change every two months or so, and volunteers assist visitors with directions and information. Closed Mondays. Also in York Hall is the Historical Museum, which displays many early Native American and Colonial artifacts, which were discovered in 1992 in the Chischiak Watch archeological dig. Chischiaks were the local Indians who lived along the shores of the York River. (tel. 757- 890-4490, www.yorkcounty.gov/cyc)

There are several antiques shops and art galleries scattered through the town. Keep in mind that several shops and galleries are closed on Mondays. The Yorktown Shoppe on Main Street is one example of several shops owned by the National Park Service that peddles all things Colonial: caps, shirts, flags, lanterns, hand-dipped candles, and – what every house needs – a deck prism, a reproduction of the colored triangular prisms of glass that were embedded in the decks of ships to give light to the quarters below. (tel. 757-898-2984)

Across the street, Period Designs carries art objects based on 17th- and 18th-century originals: ceramics, prints, floor coverings, and more. (401 Main Street, tel. 757-886-9482, www.perioddesigns.com)

On the Hill Cultural Arts Center offers on commission the work of about 80 local artists and crafters – from watercolors and photographs to note cards and jewelry. (Yorktown Arts Foundation, tel. 757-898-3076)

Dining

There are several restaurants on Water Street