In 1881 Jamestown had a population of nearly one thousand. The town also had a post office, a police station and Court House, an Institute, street lighting, schools, a railway station, two banks, the National since 1876 and the Bank of South Australia since 1879, a flour mill, a butcher and baker shop, several churches and general stores, a newspaper, the Jamestown Review, a brewery, a Football Club, Cricket Club, a hospital, a blacksmith, a Coach building factory, a Boot factory, a District Council and five hotels.

Jamestown is located 209 km north of Adelaide, in the heart of some of South Australia's most productive agricultural land. The traveller's first site of Jamestown are the grain bulk handling facilities at the railhead which stand out against the nearby low lying hills. The town itself is characterised by wide tree-lined streets in fact 3 cricket pitches wide(Here the picture is taken from the middle of the street the traffic is one way on each side...see Right). It has parking in the centre of the street. On either side of the street are a number of prominent buildings including the National Australia Bank (1885), the Belalie Hotel (1877) and the Commercial Hotel (1877).