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Twilight of Colonialism: Williamsburg
Visit Virginia when it was still an English colony.

Craftsmen, coaches, militiamen, and others costumed in the style of the period provide Colonial Williamsburg with a living history.
There's no place like Williamsburg for experiencing life on the eve of the American Revolution. With a mix of original and reconstructed buildings, period taverns, gardens and businesses, and a population of costumed interpreters, Williamsburg is a carefully contrived time warp on a grand scale.

Founded in 1633 as Middle Plantation, Williamsburg gained its new name when it became the capital of the English colony of Virginia in 1699. The College of William and Mary, still an active institution, was already there, having been founded in 1693. Among its students was one Thomas Jefferson. (He would return to Williamsburg to live after being elected Virginia's governor in 1779.)



Williamsburg soon grew to be a cosmopolitan capital city and eventually a focal point for growing anti-crown sentiment.
Williamsburg soon grew to be a cosmopolitan capital city and eventually a focal point for growing anti-crown sentiment. Following the passage of the much-hated Stamp Act in 1765, 29-year-old Patrick Henry made a famous speech in the Capitol Building's House of Burgesses. "Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus," he was reported to have said, "Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third..." Interrupted by a cry of "Treason!" he continued, "...may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it!" Britain did repeal the Stamp Act, but damage had been done.

When Jefferson moved the seat of government to Richmond in 1781, Williamsburg was left behind to grow old in peace—and perhaps that's why so much of the town known by Henry, Jefferson, and George Washington still exists. By 1926 Williamsburg was still historic but somewhat shabby. Then the rector of the historic Bruton Parish Church, William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin, talked rich philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. into using part of his considerable fortune to return Williamsburg to the 18th century. Today Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area occupies 173 acres and includes 88 original buildings and more than 50 major reconstructions.

Visitors to the region should also see the two other sides of the Historic Triangle. At Jamestown, England established its first permanent colony in the Americas, and at Yorktown the Continental Army under George Washington won a decisive victory to end British rule.

Colonial Williamsburg is off I-64 between Richmond and Norfolk. Tickets are necessary for admission to the buildings and the museums. For more information, call (800) 447-8679 or visit the Colonial Williamsburg website at www.history.org.


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Photo: Virginia Tourism Corporation
Image: Photo: Virginia Tourism Corporation
Photo: Courtesy Virginia Tourism Corporation