RonnieAdventure #0316 - Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Several years ago we visited Colonial Williamsburg and found that the best way to get an overview of the complex was to start by taking a carriage ride around the facilities. Not only do you learn where everything is located, but you also get a history review lesson while saving you feet (you do a lot of walking at Colonial Williamsburg). 

A good place to start a walking tour is the Capitol building. From the second story window you can look west on Duke of Glaucester Street and I was told that this is a famous picture site and everyone that visits the Capitol has to take a picture from the balcony. (There are a number of webcams at Williamsburg that can be found at www.history.org/webcams/capitol.cfm. If you do not want to take a picture, the webcam at the Capitol looks down the Duke of Glaucester Street.) 

The Governor's palace was the first official residence for the Colony of Virginia Royal Governors. It was also the home of post-colonial governors Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, until the Capital was moved to Richmond in 1780. The main house burned down in 1781 and was reconstructed in the 1930s on the original site.

Picture by Fletcher6 - Own Work

If you stop by the Courthouse, you can participate in a mock trial; but a word of warning - the Courthouse does not have modern air conditioning, and in the summer it gets really hot and muggy inside of the courthouse during the trial. 

Picture by Bradley Jones - Flickr

Williamsburg also has an amazing collection of colonial weapons.

At the Silversmith shop we watched a woman making a silver cup by hand. We were told that during colonial times the silver came from old coins and outdated silverware. In the 18th century the work of a silversmith was considered to be an art, which is still true today. 

In the Anderson Blacksmith Shop workers demonstrate how the colonists made tools, hardware and weapons.  

The wheelwrights kept the colonies rolling by combining various types of wood, iron bands, and sophisticated construction techniques to make all types and sizes of wheels. 

The Burton Parish Church was established in 1674 by consolidation of two parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Episcopal Parish. 

The Wythe House was build in the 1750s as the home of George Wythe, an attorney that was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Father of American Jurisprudence.  George Wythe was one of Thomas Jefferson's teachers. There was also a really, really large birdhouse in the back yard and a noisy squirrel. 

Photographer Unknown

The Wren Building was constructed in 1695 and is the oldest academic building in continuous use in the United States. It is the signature building of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg.

Picture by Jrcla2 - Own Work