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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	WILLIAMSBURG Virginia
Location: The restored area, about 130 acres in the center of Williamsburg, is bounded roughly by Francis, Waller, Nicholson, North England, Lafayette, and Nassau Streets. Colonial Williamsburg

Ownership and Administration (1961). Property within the restored area, with a few exceptions, is owned by Colonial Williamsburg, Inc.

Significance. Williamsburg was the colonial capital of Virginia, from 1699 to 1780, and was highly important as a political and cultural center. More than 80 surviving colonial buildings would qualify Williamsburg as an important historic community under any conditions, but the remarkable restoration project that has been carried out under the corporation founded and financed by the late John D. Rockefeller, Jr., has made it unique. Since its inception in 1926 the project has involved restoration of the original structures, and reconstruction on the original sites of more than 400 buildings. More than 90 gardens in Williamsburg have been restored in keeping with 18th-century designs, using only plants and flowers known to have been grown here before 1800. Painstaking research has preceded every step of the project, and the excellent interpretive program gives Colonial Williamsburg great value as a living exhibit of the 18th-century way of life. Skilled craftsmen in 18th-century attire are constantly occupied in their respective shops, restored and equipped with authentic tools, producing items of silverware, ironwork, woven fabrics, and other articles of the kind made here in the 18th century.

Life at Williamsburg in the 1700's encompassed not only the common folk but also many of the extraordinary figures of the period. Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, George Mason, George Wythe, Edmund Randolph, and other leading patriots served as burgesses here, debated and resolved the important issues that resulted in many of our democratic concepts, and played important roles in the movement for independence. Through association with places frequented by patriot leaders, as well as by the creation of its unique atmosphere, Colonial Williamsburg fulfills its purpose, that "the future may learn from the past."

The Public Magazine, one of the remaining original structures, stands near the center of Williamsburg, the restored colonial capital of Virginia. (National Park Service)

Within the town of Williamsburg, but outside the boundaries of the Rockefeller-sponsored project, is the College of William and Mary, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, birthplace of the famous honor society, Phi Beta Kappa. The college contributes to the atmosphere at Williamsburg in several important ways, not only because of its important library and learned faculty, and the efforts of its departments of drama, fine arts, and history in 18th-century studies, but also because of the Wren Building (described separately in this study, pp. 175-176), Brafferton Hall (built in 1723 to house the first permanent Indian school in the Colonies), and the president's house, which was built in 1732 and has been used since then by the chief executives of the college.

The historical character of the area is enriched still further by the fact that Williamsburg is so close to Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, founded in 1607 and capital of Virginia until 1699. On the other side of Williamsburg and almost as close is Yorktown, scene of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis which assured American in dependence in the Revolutionary War. (See p. 73.) These historic areas are connected by the Colonial Parkway, which passes through Williamsburg. Colonial Parkway, Yorktown Battlefield, and part of Jamestown Island, are administered together as Colonial National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park System.

Present Appearance (1961). Within the boundaries of Colonial Williamsburg are more than 500 original (restored) and reconstructed buildings. The following are the most important of the original structures:

(1) Public Magazine, Market Square. Built in 1715-16 to hold the public arms and ammunition, its most dramatic moment came on the night of April 20-21, 1775, when the colonial Governor, Lord Dunmore, removed the powder to prevent it from falling into the hands of the colonial militia. Owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

(2) Ludwell-Paradise House, Duke of Gloucester Street. A large brick house built before 1717 by Philip Ludwell II and later occupied by his daughter Lucy, widow of John Paradise.

(3) Old Court House, Duke of Gloucester Street. Built in 1770, it now houses an interesting archeological exhibit.

(4) Bruton Parish Church, Duke of Gloucester Street. Built in 1710-15, with the tower added in 1769, the church was restored in the first decade of the 20th century by the Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin, who later inspired John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to undertake the Williamsburg restoration. Here, as young men, came Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, and Tyler, as well as many other distinguished Virginia leaders and statesmen.

(5) George Wythe House, Palace Green. Built about 1750 by the amateur architect, Richard Taliaferro, it was left to his son-in-law, George Wythe, 20 years later. One of the leading Virginians of his generation, Wythe taught law to Jefferson, John Marshall, James Monroe, and Henry Clay.

The most notable reconstructed buildings are:

(1) The Capitol, end of Duke of Gloucester Street. Original constructed 1701-5. Reconstructed to the precise specifications of the original, using clay obtained from vacant lots within town for the bricks, handmade and kilned locally.

Once the seat of Government of a vast and powerful colony that stretched to the Mississippi River, the colonial Capitol Building at Williamsburg has been carefully reconstructed to its appearance of the early 1700's. Here met not only the high court and Governor's Council, but also the House of Burgesses, America's first representative legislative assembly. (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg.)

(2) The Governor's Palace, Palace Green. Original constructed 1706-20. The handsome, Georgian structure is flanked by beautifully paneled brick offices and guardrooms. On the grounds are a smokehouse, laundry, wellhead, salthouse, formal gardens, and an orchard, including an artificial canal and a holly maze.

(3) Raleigh Tavern, Duke of Gloucester Street. Original built be fore 1742. This long, 1-1/2-story frame hostelry ranked next only to the Capitol as a scene of Revolutionary activities. [84]

NHL Designation: 10/09/60