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Williamsburg Historic District
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View of Duke of Gloucester Street
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| Location: | Bounded by Francis, Waller, Nicholson, N. England, Lafayette, and Nassau Sts., Williamsburg, Virginia |
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| Area: | 173 acres (70 ha) |
| Built: | 1699 |
| Architectural style: | Georgian |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: |
66000925 [1] [2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD: | October 9, 1960 |
Colonial Williamsburg is the private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The district includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 which made colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of the original shires of Virginia — James City Shire (now James City County), and Charles River Shire (now York County). For most of the 18th century, Williamsburg was the center of government, education and culture in the Colony of Virginia. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, James Madison, George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, and others molded democracy in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States here.
The motto of Colonial Williamsburg is "The future may learn from the past". The Historic Area is an interpretation of a Colonial American city, with exhibits including dozens of authentic or re-created colonial houses and relating to American Revolutionary War history. Prominent buildings include the Raleigh Tavern, the Capitol, The Governor's Palace (all reconstructed), and Bruton Parish Church (original). Rather than an effort to preserve antiquity, the combination of restoration and re-creation of the entire colonial town attempts to re-create the atmosphere and the ideals of 18th-century American people and revolutionary leaders. Interpreters work and dress as they did in the era, using colonial grammar and diction (although not colonial accents).[3]
The 301-acre (122 ha) Historic Area is located immediately east of The College of William & Mary, which was founded at Middle Plantation in 1693. The new college was a key factor in the establishment of the town as capital of Virginia in 1698 and its renaming for King William III of England shortly thereafter. As the city was laid out, the school's Wren Building stood at the western end of Duke of Gloucester Street, where it stands today, opposite the Capitol where the burgesses, and later legislators, met.
Colonial Williamsburg is a Williamsburg tourist attraction. The site has been used for conferences by world leaders and heads of state, including U.S. Presidents. In 1983, the United States hosted the first World Economic Conference at Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg is within the Historic Triangle of Virginia area, which includes Jamestown and Yorktown. The cities are linked by the National Park Service's bucolic Colonial Parkway.
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Early in the 20th century, the restoration and re-creation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest such projects in the nation, was championed by W. A. R. Goodwin and the patriarch of the Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., along with his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, to celebrate the patriots and the early history of the United States.
Many of the missing Colonial structures were reconstructed on their original sites during the 1930s. Others were restored to estimates of 18th-century appearance, with traces of later buildings and improvements removed. Dependency structures and animals add to the ambience. Most buildings are open for tourists, with the exception of buildings serving as residences for Colonial Williamsburg employees.[4]
Notable structures include the Capitol and the Governor's Palace, each re-created and landscaped as to what is known of their late 18th-century condition, as well as Bruton Parish Church and the Raleigh Tavern. The Wren Building on the campus of William and Mary was one of the first buildings to be restored.
The major goal of the Restoration was to re-create the physical colonial environment and to facilitate education about the origins of the idea of America, which was conceived during the decades before the American Revolution.
In this environment, Colonial Williamsburg strives to tell the story of how diverse peoples, having different and sometimes conflicting ambitions, evolved into a society that valued liberty and equality.[5]
On May 13, 1607, at a small low-lying wooded peninsula, virtually an island, the Jamestown Settlement was established by English colonists on the south side of what is now known as the Virginia Peninsula. Soon a dozen subsidiary settlements, such as Martin's Hundred and Henricus, were established in areas along the James River.[6][7][8]
The first meeting of a representative government group in the American colonies was held at the Jamestown Settlement on July 30, 1619, making Jamestown the first Capital of Virginia. Among the 22 members of this first legislative group was the governor, who was appointed by officials of the Virginia Company in London. The governor in turn appointed six members of the colony to be his council. The other 15 members were elected by the free men of the Virginia Colony who were over 17 and owned land. This body, known as the House of Burgesses, later became the House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly.
Middle Plantation was established in 1632. Unlike Jamestown and other early settlements along the rivers and navigable waterways, Middle Plantation was located on high ground halfway across the Virginia Peninsula between the James and York Rivers. Not only was it at the highpoint of the width of the peninsula, it was at the western edge of a geographic plateau of the Tidewater Region, from which the land slopes eastward down to sea level at the lower end of the peninsula. This was a natural point to build a line of defense for the lower peninsula during early conflicts with the Native Americans.
In 1676, after the State House at Jamestown was burned during Bacon's Rebellion, the House of Burgesses met at Middle Plantation, which was nearby. With education long a goal of the colonists, The College of William & Mary was founded in 1693 and established adjacent to Middle Plantation beginning in 1694. George Washington received his surveyor's license from the school. Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall were among many of Virginia's (and the nation's) future leaders who received their higher education at the College. The Commonwealth of Virginia has operated the College since 1906.[9]
The statehouse (capitol building) in Jamestown burned again on October 20, 1698. Once again, the legislators found themselves meeting at Middle Plantation. In 1699, in a meeting held by the colonists, a group of students from The College of William & Mary submitted a proposal to move the capital to Middle Plantation, to escape malaria and mosquitoes that plagued the Jamestown Island site. The capital of the Virginia Colony was relocated to Middle Plantation.[10] Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg by Royal Governor Francis Nicholson, proponent of the change, in honor of King William III. The new site was described by Nicholson as a place where "clear and crystal springs burst from the champagne soil" and was seen as a vision of future utopia. He had the city surveyed and a plan laid out by Theodorick Bland taking into consideration the fine brick College Building and Bruton Parish Church. The main street was named Duke of Gloucester after the eldest son of Queen Anne.[11]
At the time the main street was rechristened after the Duke of Gloucester, it was a simple horse path that veered through a set of swampy ravines and was obstructed at one point by houses and an oven. On April 27, 1704, Francis Nicholson asked the House of Burgesses to allow purchase of four old homes on the site so they could be demolished. On May 5, Henry Cary and his workers tore the homes down, and gave the owner of the property, Col. John Page, £5 and let him have the bricks from the razed homes.[12] The transaction may be the first documented condemnation proceeding in American history.[13]
In 1705, the first Capitol building in America was built at the eastern end of the Duke of Gloucester Street opposite the College building (Wren Building). Members of the House of Burgesses which met in the Capital there included Patrick Henry, George Washington, George Mason, and Thomas Jefferson. A fire destroyed the building in 1747. It was rebuilt, but fell into disrepair after the American Revolution. The building now standing on its site is a 1930s re-creation of the 1705 building, designed by the architects Perry, Shaw & Hepburn. The new Capitol was dedicated with a ceremonial meeting of the Virginia General Assembly on February 24, 1934.[14]
As a tradition in Virginia, since 1934, Virginia's state legislators have reassembled for a day every other year in the Capitol building at the east end of Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area.[10]
During the American Revolutionary War, in 1780, the capital of Virginia was moved to Richmond, about 55 miles (90 km) west for security reasons, and there it was to stay.[15]
The colonial section of Williamsburg was neglected as the modern town was built around it. By the early 20th century, many older structures were in poor condition, and were no longer in use. The site on high ground and away from waterways was not reached by the early railroads, whose construction began in the 1830s. Fifty years later, when Collis P. Huntington built the new Chesapeake and Ohio Railway through the area in 1881, his main purpose was the through shipment of coal from West Virginia to Newport News and the new coal pier on the harbor of Hampton Roads at the southeastern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. The Industrial Revolution seemed to pass by Williamsburg, a rural center.
Williamsburg relied on three institutions for jobs for its people: The College of William & Mary, the Courthouse and the Eastern Lunatic Asylum (now Eastern State Hospital),;[16] it was said that the "500 Crazies" of the asylum supported the "500 Lazies" of the College and town.[16] Colonial-era buildings were neglected in the wake of the Civil War, which had a much larger presence in the minds of the townsfolk. Williamsburg had Civil War commemorations every year, one on May 5, the anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg. On May 5, 1908, Williamsburg dedicated a monument to Confederate soldiers and sailors and placed it prominently on the Palace Green.[17]
The Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, became rector of Williamsburg's Bruton Parish Church in 1903. The energetic 34-year old native of Nelson County was soon leading a successful campaign to restore the historic church building, which had been built beginning in 1711. Goodwin was an instructor at William & Mary. He completed the church restoration in time for the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Anglican (Episcopal) Church in Virginia in 1907.
Goodwin was transferred by the Church, and worked in upstate New York until his return in 1923 to work at William & Mary. What he saw in further deterioration of colonial-era buildings both saddened and inspired him. In 1924, fearing that the many other historic buildings in the area would be destroyed as time went on, he started a movement to preserve the buildings in the historic section of the town. After working for several years to interest potential individuals or organizations to assist with funding, Goodwin drew the interest (and major financial commitment) of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the wealthy son of the founder of Standard Oil. Rockefeller's wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller was also to play an active role.
Re-creation and restoration started on November 27, 1926 with Arthur Shurcliff as the chief landscape architect and Perry, Shaw & Hepburn as architects. Concerned that prices might rise if their intentions were known, Rockefeller and Goodwin kept their plans a secret, quietly buying properties. Williamsburg attorney Vernon M Geddy, Sr. was taken into Goodwin's confidence in his role as Rockefeller's silent partner and did much of the title research and legal work related as properties in what was to become the restored area were acquired for the project. (Geddy later drafted the Virginia corporate papers for the project, filed them with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and served briefly as the first President of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.[18] That much property suddenly changing hands was noticeable, and after eighteen months of increasingly nervous rumors, Goodwin and Rockefeller finally revealed their plans at two town meetings on June 11 and 12, 1928.[19]
Some townspeople had qualms. Major S. D. Freeman said, "We will reap dollars, but will we own our town? Will you not be in the position of a butterfly pinned to a card in a glass cabinet, or like a mummy unearthed in the tomb of Tutankhamun?" [19]
During the restoration, the project demolished 720 Williamsburg buildings that postdated 1790, many of which dated from the 19th century. Since then, Colonial Williamsburg has been nearly completely re-created. It features shops, taverns and open-air markets in the colonial style. The Governor's Palace and the Capitol building were among the significant colonial-era buildings that had not survived into the 20th century, and the structures were reconstructed at the original sites with the aid of period illustrations and written descriptions. Of the approximately 500 buildings in the historic area, 88 are original.[20] The grounds and gardens were all reconstructed in the Colonial Revival style.[21]
In the western side of the district, beginning in the 1930s, retail shops were grouped under the name.
Colonial Williamsburg is owned and operated as a living museum by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the non-profit entity endowed initially by the Rockefeller family and over the years by many others, notably Reader's Digest founders Lila and DeWitt Wallace.
Central to the Rockefeller vision of Williamsburg was the need for retailing, not only to generate money to pay for the upkeep of Williamsburg, but also to aid in educating visitors through affordable reproductions. The Williamsburg Reproductions items sold in the Craft House were inspired by or reproductions of items in the collections. Vendors such as Wedgwood, Charles Overly, Kittinger, Martin Senour, Kirk Steiff Co., and Virginia Metalcrafters have made products licensed by Colonial Williamsburg.
Beginning in the earliest periods of the Restoration, Colonial Williamsburg acquired acreage in Williamburg and the two counties which adjoin it, notably to the north and east of the Historic District. One of the major considerations was a desire to preserve natural views and facilitate the effort to allow a visitor to experience as much of the late 18th-century experience as possible with regard to the surrounding environment. This was described as a "rural, wooded sense of arrival" along corridors to the foundation's Historic Area.[22] In announcing a conservation easement in 2006, CW Chairman Colin G. Campbell stated: "This view shed helps to set the stage for visitors in their journey from modern day life into the 18th-century setting. At the same time, this preserves the natural environment around Queen's Creek and protects a significant archaeological site. It is a tangible and important example of how the Foundation is protecting the vital greenbelt surrounding Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area for future generations." [23]
The entrance roadways to the Historic Area were planned with great care. The Colonial Parkway was planned and is maintained to reduce modern intrusions. Near the principal planned roadway approach to Colonial Williamsburg, similar design priorities were employed for the relocated U.S. Route 60 near the intersection of Bypass Road and North Henry Street. Prior to the restoration, U.S. Route 60 ran right down Duke of Gloucester Street through town. To shift the traffic away from the Historic Area, Bypass Road was planned and built though farmland and woods about a mile north of town. Shortly thereafter, when Route 143 was built as the Merrimack Trail (originally designated State Route 168) in the 1930s, the protected vista was extended along Route 132 in York County to the new road, and two new bridges were built across Queen's Creek.
About 30 years later, when Interstate 64 was planned and built in the 1960s and early 1970s, from the designated "Colonial Williamsburg" exit, the additional land along Merrimack Trail to Route 132 was similarly protected from development. Today, visitors encounter no commercial properties before they reach the Visitor's Center, although the land is very valuable and the distance is several miles.
Not only highway travel was considered. Although Williamsburg's brick Chesapeake and Ohio Railway passenger station was less than 20 years old and one of the newer along the rail line, it was replaced with a larger new one in Colonial style which was located just out of sight and within walking distance of the Historic Area. Today, this circa-1935 building has been restored and modernized, and serves as the intermodal Williamsburg Transportation Center, with Amtrak, Greyhound Lines and other local and regional bus services, and other transport modes consolidated there.
The area to the immediate east of the Historic Area in James City County included a vast tract known as the Kingsmill Plantation property. It was bisected by the historic Quarterpath Road, dating to the 17th century, which led from Williamsburg to the James River at Burwell's Landing. The manor house, built in the 1730s, had burned in 1843, but several brick dependencies survived (and still do into the 21st century). Immediately to the east of the Kingsmill tract was Carter's Grove Plantation. It was begun by a grandson of Royal Governor Robert "King" Carter. For over 200 years, it had gone through a succession of owners and modifications. In the 1960s after the death of its last resident, Ms. Molly McRae, Carter's Grove Plantation came under the control of the Rockefeller Foundation, which gave it to Colonial Williamsburg as a gift.
(Carter's Grove, at a distance of 8 miles (13 km), was operated until 2003 as a satellite facility of Colonial Williamsburg, with several important programs. Most of the programs were relocated to be closer to the Historic Area, and the property was sold in 2007, with restrictive and conservation covenants to protect it. See separate article Carter's Grove for more details).
Between Carter's Grove and the Historic District was the largely vacant Kingsmill tract, as well as a small military outpost of Fort Eustis known as Camp Wallace. In mid-1960s, CW owned land that extended all the way from the Historic District to Skiffe's Creek, at the edge of Newport News near Lee Hall.
Distant from the Historic Area and not along the carefully protected sight paths, the vacant land basically known as the Kingsmill tract was long unproductive for either CW or the community. That changed in the early 1970s, under the leadership of CW Chairman Winthrop Rockefeller.
Rockefeller, a son of Abby and John D. Rockeller Jr., was a frequent visitor and particularly fond of Carter's Grove in the late 1960s. He also served as Governor of the State of Arkansas. He became aware of some expansion plans elsewhere on the Peninsula of his St. Louis-based neighbor, August Anheuser Busch, Jr., head of Anheuser-Busch (AB). A businessman and promoter, he had originated the use of the now famous Clydesdale team as a company logo in the 1930s. In 1959, the company had opened what today is known as a theme park in Tampa, Florida which was known as simply "Busch Gardens". It was visionary, and predated the massive Walt Disney World development nearby by several years; today it is known as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
While details have never been widely publicized, by the time "Win" Rockefeller and "Gussie" Busch completed their discussions, the biggest changes in the Williamsburg area were underway since the Restoration began 40 years earlier. Among the goals were to complement Colonial Williamsburg attractions and enhance the local economy.
The large tract consisting primarily of the Kingsmill land was sold by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to Anheuser-Busch (AB) for planned development. The AB investment included building a large brewery, the Busch Gardens Europe theme park, the Kingsmill planned resort community, and McLaws Circle, an office park. AB and related entities from that development plan comprise the area's largest employment base, surpassing both Colonial Williamsburg and the local military bases. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch ranked as the world's second largest brewer.
Although not directly affiliated with the nearby Colonial National Historical Park, the nearby Colonial Parkway and attractions at Jamestown and Yorktown presented by state and federal entities are complementary adjuncts to the restored area of the colonial city. With Colonial Williamsburg as its centerpiece, the Historic Triangle of Virginia is a much visited tourist destination.
The popular American Girl character, Felicity Merriman, is from Colonial Williamsburg. She lives in 1774, the years preceding the American Revolution.
Colonial Williamsburg is a combination of a historical landmark and a living history museum. It has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Virginia. With its historic significance in democracy, it and the surrounding area have been the site of many summit meetings of world leaders, notably the first World Economic Conference in 1983. Colonial Williamsburg has also hosted visiting royalty from several nations, including King Hussein of Jordan and Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Queen Elizabeth II has paid two royal visits to Williamsburg, most recently in May 2007 during the 400th anniversary of the founding of the nearby Jamestown Settlement.
Colonial Williamsburg is an open-air assemblage of buildings populated with historical reenactors whose job it is to explain and demonstrate aspects of daily life in the past. The reenactors (or interpreters) work, dress, and talk as they would have in colonial times. While there are many living history museums (such as Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts or Castell Henllys in the UK), Colonial Williamsburg is unusual for having been constructed from a living town whose inhabitants and post-Colonial-era buildings were removed.
Unlike other living history museums, however, anyone can walk through the historic district of Williamsburg free of charge at any hour of the day. Charges apply only to those visitors who wish to enter the historic buildings to see arts and crafts demonstrations during daylight hours, or attend scheduled outdoor performances such as the Revolutionary City programs.
The Visitor's Center near the Colonial Parkway features a short movie, "The Story of a Patriot", which was made in 1956. Visitors may park at the Visitor's Center as automobiles are restricted from the restored area. Wheelchair-accessible shuttle bus service is provided to stops around the perimeter of the Historic District of Williamsburg, as well as Jamestown and Yorktown during the peak summer season.
The costumed interpreters have not always worn Colonial dress. As an experiment in anticipation of the Bicentennial, in summer 1973 the hostesses were dressed in special red, white, and blue polyester knit pantsuits. Visitors were confused and disappointed and the experiment was dropped at the end of summer.[24] For the Bicentennial, docents wore historical costume after all.
The Grand Illumination is an outdoor ceremony and mass celebration involving the simultaneous activation of thousands of Christmas lights held each year on the first Sunday of December. The ceremony was invented in 1935, based on a colonial (and English) tradition of placing lighted candles in the windows of homes and public buildings to celebrate a special event such as the winning of a war or the birthday of the reigning monarch. The Grand Illumination also has incorporated extravagant fireworks displays, based on the 18th-century practice of using fireworks to celebrate significant occasions.
When visiting Colonial Williamsburg, it helps to know some of the local lingo. Locals, students, and employees frequently call Colonial Williamsburg "CW". The main portion is sometimes called the "Restored Area" or more often the "Historic Area". One of the main streets, Duke of Gloucester, is called "DoG Street".
The Colonial Williamsburg area has two intersections known as "Confusion Corner". The area more properly known as "College Corner" is the intersection of Jamestown Road, Richmond Road, North and South Boundary Streets, and the west end of Duke of Gloucester Street (in front of the Wren Building of The College of William & Mary, itself often called simply "The College".) Also known as "Confusion Corner" is the intersection of Page, Lafayette, Francis, and York Streets. The intersection is nicknamed as such due to the irregular traffic pattern where rights-of-way are unclear. When students at the College refer to "Confusion Corner," they are always referring to the five-way intersection of Jamestown Road, Richmond Road, and North and South Boundary Streets, as it is located between the main campus of the College and some College buildings such as the Bookstore. Some locals recall a time before a stoplight existed at the other "Confusion Corner".
Many times there are reenactments by historical interpreters in period costumes representing Colonial Willamsburg as can be seen in these multiple videos. In addition to simple period reenactment, there are times where Colonial Williamsburg may have certain themes, including the founding of Williamsburg, occupation by British forces, or visits from Colonial leaders of the day, including General George Washington.
Attendance at Colonial Williamsburg peaked in 1985 at 1.1 million visitors.[25] After years of lowered attendance, it began to rebound somewhat with the Jamestown 2007 celebration and the Revolutionary City programs of live, interactive street theater between re-enactors and audience members, which began in 2006.
Since bottoming out in 2004, total attendance has climbed about 10 percent total over the last few years, according to a report in July 2008. During the most recent year, CW's hospitality revenue increase of 15 percent was much stronger than the ticket sale gain of 5 percent, reflecting how the hospitality money is not always coming from CW Historic Area tourists, according to an official.[26]
A challenge for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has been operating deficits. Operating income comes from attendance, merchandising, and hospitality properties, as well as non-operating income resulting from investments of the endowments. Financially focused efforts in recent years have primarily focused on cost containment and stimulating attendance and hospitality revenues. The Foundation has also sold some property assets not essential to its core mission, including most of its formerly owned properties on nearby Peacock Hill, which has the local distinction of having formerly been home to Georgia O'Keeffe, Mayor Polly Stryker, and Dr. Donald W. Davis, founder of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
In a front-page article in The New York Times on December 31, 2006, it was reported that the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, struggling because of dwindling attendance and lack of sufficient endowment funds for upkeep, would be offering the Carter's Grove mansion and grounds for sale to a private purchaser, possibly as soon as January 2007. The article stated that the dilemma of historic museums and houses is that there are too many of them, upkeep is too expensive, and fewer people are visiting them.[25]
Carter's Grove was a relatively late addition to Colonial Williamsburg's holdings. Historians have noted that one of the dreams of CW founder John D. Rockefeller Jr. which was not fulfilled in his lifetime was inclusion of one of the extant James River Plantations, which were important local features during the time period CW re-creates. The Kingsmill property fell short on that measure, as the manor house had burned in 1843, and only a few brick dependencies remained when CW acquired that property. After the founder's death in 1960, several of his sons led the foundation. An opportunity arose during Winthrop Rockefeller's tenure as chairman when, after hundreds of years of multiple owners and generations of families, Ms. Molly McRae of Carter's Grove died, and the property became available. In 1969, Carter's Grove was added to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's properties through a gift from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Until his death in 1973, Winthrop Rockefeller appeared to live some of his father's unfilled dreams at Carter's Grove, frequently hosting international and special guests. During that period, and for many years thereafter, Carter's Grove was open to tourists. A major archaeological discovery was made of the site of circa 1620 Wolstenholme Towne. New interpretive programs were based there, including some featuring the lives of the African Americans who had less well-known but crucial roles in the Colonial era.
However, the manor house was more problematic. It had been substantially remodeled, overhauled and altered throughout its 200 year life and did not lend itself well to portraying its appearance and uses of the 1770s era CW focuses upon. Also, the distance of the plantation from the Historic Area provided logistical problems, extra costs and lower attendance than had it been located closer.
In 2003, as CW attendance and operating revenues continued to drop, Carter's Grove was closed to the public while its mission and role in CW's programs were redefined. Later that year, Hurricane Isabel rendered serious damage to Carter's Grove Country Road, which had linked the estate directly to the Historic Area, a distance of 8 miles (13 km), bypassing commercial and public roadways. In an efficiency move, Colonial Williamsburg shifted some of the interpretive programs to locations contiguous to the Historic Area in Williamsburg. The foundation announced in late 2006 that it would be offered for sale, under specific restrictive conditions.
In December 2007, the Georgian-style mansion and 476 acres (193 ha) were acquired for $15.3 million by CNET founder Halsey Minor, whose announced plans to use the property as a private residence and a center for a thoroughbred horse breeding program. A conservation easement on the mansion and 400 of the 476 acres (193 ha) is co-held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.[27][28] The easement protects and preserves the mansion, the James River viewshed and the archaeological sites on the property.[29] While some local residents lamented CW's decision to sell Carter's Grove, others stated relief that it would remain largely intact, no small matter in one of the fastest developing counties in Virginia.[28]
In addition to the large sale of surplus land of the old Kingsmill plantation to Anheuser Busch in the 1970s, and the more recent sale of Carter's Grove, the Foundation has also sold several outlying tracts of land not considered fundamental to its mission.
One of these is a 360-acre (150 ha) tract along historic Quarterpath Road north of State Route 199 and south of U.S. Route 60 east of the Historic Area. In 2005, it was the City of Williamsburg's largest undeveloped tract under single ownership."[30] Observers have noted that, while most of the Quarterpath land will be developed, the previously vacant land will include park and recreational facilities, and Redoubt Park, dedicated to preserving some of the battlegrounds from the Battle of Williamsburg which occurred on May 5, 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.[31]
A portion of the 437-acre (177 ha) Carr's Hill Tract in York County, north and west of Bypass Road and State Route 132, was also sold. Developments thereon were restricted under the terms of sale so as to not negatively impact the vista available to motorists approaching Colonial Williamsburg. In February, 2007, a developer announced that 313 homes were planned to be built on 65 acres (26 ha) of the historic tract's 437 acres (177 ha). CW had earlier announced that it had donated three conservation easements to the Williamsburg Land Conservancy on 230 acres (93 ha) of the Carr's Hill tract land west of Route 132 in York County.[23]
CW has hired former NBC journalist Lloyd Dobyns to produce podcasts for the museum where he usually interviews various staff members about their particular specialty.[32]
In the 1990s Colonial Williamsburg implemented the Teaching Institute in Early American History, and Electronic Field Trips. Designed for elementary and middle/high school teachers, the Institute offers workshops for educators to meet with historians, character interpreters, and to prepare instructional materials for use in the classroom.[33] Electronic Field Trips are a series of multimedia classroom presentations available to schools. Each program is designed around a particular topic in history and includes a lesson plan as well as classroom and online activities. Monthly live broadcasts on local PBS stations allow participating classes to interact with historical interpreters via telephone or internet.[34]
In 2007 Colonial Williamsburg launched www.iCitizenForum.com. A mix of historical documents and user-generated content such as blogs, videos, and message boards, the site aims to prompt discussion about the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy. Preservation of the Founding Fathers' ideals in light of recent world events is a special focus of the site.
Colin G. Campbell, former president of Wesleyan University, is the Foundation's current President and CEO. Richard Tilghman of Richmond, VA is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Dr. James Horn, author of A Land As God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America and Adapting to a New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake, is the Foundation's Vice President for Research and Historical Interpretation, and Dr. Taylor Stoermer, formerly of Brown University, is its Senior Historian.
The closest commercial airport is Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport 25–30 minutes driving distance away. Williamsburg is midway between two larger commercial airports, Richmond International Airport and Norfolk International Airport, each about an hour's distance away.
Amtrak offers a passenger rail service stop at Williamsburg, as does Greyhound and Carolina Trailways with intercity buses.
Williamsburg is adjacent to east-west Interstate 64 and the parallel U.S. Route 60 passes through the city. A third road, State Route 143, also extends east to Newport News and Hampton, ending at Fort Monroe. From Richmond, Interstate 295, and other points west, many visitors approach via State Route 5, a scenic byway which passes many of the James River Plantations, or from the south via State Route 10, State Route 31 and the Jamestown Ferry. The Virginia Capital Trail is available for bicycles and pedestrians along the Colonial Parkway and Virginia Route 5.
Williamsburg offers good non-automobile driving alternatives for visitors. The area has both a central intermodal transportation center and Williamsburg Area Transport (WAT), a public transit bus system which operates a network of local routes.
The Williamsburg Transportation Center is located in the restored Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) station, and is a combined intermodal facility with taxicabs, Amtrak passenger railroad service, and intercity bus service provided by Greyhound Lines (and its Carolina Trailways subsidiary) and Hampton Roads Transit which provides two express routes (one from downtown Newport News and one from Virginia Beach).
The community's public bus system has its central hub at the transportation center. Color-coded routes, with buses accessible to disabled persons, serve hotels and motels, restaurants, stores, and non-Colonial Williams attractions. Colonial Williamsburg operates its own fleet of buses with stops close to attractions in the Historic Area, although no motor vehicles operate on Duke of Gloucester Street (to maintain the colonial-era atmosphere). During the peak summer months, Colonial Williamsburg operates buses to Jamestown and Yorktown attractions, for visitors who prefer to park their vehicles at the Visitor's Center parking area.
The Historic Triangle is located on the Virginia Peninsula and includes the colonial communities of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, with many restored attractions linked by the Colonial Parkway.
The National Park Service's Colonial Parkway joins the three popular attractions of Colonial Virginia with a scenic roadway shielded from views of commercial development. This helps visitors mentally return to the past and maintain the ambiance while moving between the major attractions by motor vehicle or bicycle. There are views of wildlife and waterfowl. Near the James River and York River ends of the parkway, there are pull-offs with views and wildlife feeding opportunities. No trucks are allowed and animals and birds have right-of-way over vehicles. There is access from the south by water from Surry County with a ride aboard one of the Jamestown Ferries. Weather and daylight permitting, passengers usually see the Jamestown Island much as the first colonists may have approached it. The replicas of Christopher Newport's three tiny ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, are docked near the northern ferry landing at Jamestown Settlement living-history museum.
Visitors can go to Historic Jamestowne, site of America's first permanent English colony and the ongoing Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project, and Jamestown Settlement, a state-operated living-history museum of 17th-century Virginia, with re-created 1607 English ships, colonial fort and Powhatan Indian village.
Yorktown Battlefield preserves the site of the decisive military engagement of the American Revolution. Across town from the National Park Service Visitor Center is the state-operated Yorktown Victory Center, a living-history museum of the American Revolution. Riverwalk Landing, along the Yorktown waterfront, is a venue for specialty shopping, dining and events.
Notwithstanding the successful efforts to provide a non-commercial atmosphere at the three Historic Triangle areas (and on the Colonial Parkway between them), there are many hotels, motels, campgrounds, restaurants, shops and stores, gasoline stations, and amusements close by. Several major attractions are:
Some residents of Williamsburg, including Major S. D. Freeman and Cara Armistead, questioned the 1928 transfer of public lands (as compared to private properties). In January, 1932, the large marble Confederate Civil War monument was removed from Palace Green, where it had stood since 1908, and relocated in the Cedar Grove Cemetery, on the outskirts of town. Some citizens, although supportive of the Colonial reconstruction, felt this was too much. The case went to court, and eventually the monument was relocated to a new site east of the then-new courthouse.[19] Today the memorial rests in Bicentennial Park, just outside the Historic Area.
The approach to restoration and preservation taken by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has long been subject to criticism. One of the Foundation’s own in-house publications concedes that “Colonial Williamsburg bears the burden of criticism that the restored town appears too neat and clean, too 'spick-and-span', and too manicured to be believable.”[21] Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic, wrote in 1965: "Williamsburg is an extraordinary, conscientious and expensive exercise in historical playacting in which real and imitation treasures and modern copies are carelessly confused in everyone's mind. Partly because it is so well done, the end effect has been to devalue authenticity and denigrate the genuine heritage of less picturesque periods to which an era and a people gave life."[35] An even harsher interpretation is that of University of Virginia Professor of Architectural History Richard Guy Wilson, author of Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, who described Colonial Williamsburg as "a superb example of an American suburb of the 1930s, with its inauthentically tree-lined streets of Colonial Revival houses and segregated commerce."[36]
Among the answers to these criticisms is that “Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area is a compromise between historical authenticity and common sense, between brutal realism and gentle ambiance, between being a moment in time in the eighteenth century and being nearly three hundred years old.”[37] Critics assert that setting “historical authenticity” against “common sense” is a false dichotomy and that commercial and proprietary factors are what are really at issue. Of course archaeological and historical research is an ongoing process at CW and as new information surfaces, reconsideration is often prompted and changes made accordingly.
At Appalachian State University a graduate level class is taught on the preservation and restoration of Colonial Williamsburg as part of its Public History program. One of the main questions asked during the class is whether Colonial Williamsburg has become a sort of "theme park" with its many reenactments and "living history" programs.
Colonial Williamsburg has been criticized for neglecting the role of free African-Americans in Colonial life, in addition to those who were slaves. When it first opened in the 1930s, Colonial Williamsburg had segregated dormitories for its reenactors. African Americans filled historical roles as servants, rather than free people as in the present day. In a segregated state, Colonial Williamsburg allowed the entry of blacks, but Williamsburg-area hotels denied them accommodation, and state law forbade blacks from eating with whites in such public facilities as the restored taverns and from shopping in nearby stores.[1] In the 1950s, African Americans were only allowed to visit Colonial Williamsburg one day a week until after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 began dismantling segregation laws and practices.
Colonial Williamsburg offered some of the earlier public accommodations on an integrated basis. In the 1970s, in reaction to increasing scorn of its one-sided portrayal of colonial life, Colonial Williamsburg increased its number of African-American interpreters who played slaves. In 1994 it added slave auctions and slave marriages; the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference later protested. In 1999 Colonial Williamsburg added a program to explain slavery and its role in Colonial America. In recent years Colonial Williamsburg has expanded its portrayal of 18th-century African Americans to include free blacks as well as slaves. Gowan Pamphlet, a former slave who became a free landowner and Baptist minister, is among the historic figures featured in Colonial Williamsburg's current Revolutionary City program. A re-created Great Hopes Plantation represents a middling plantation, not one owned by the wealthy, in which working-class farmers worked alongside their slaves. Their lives were more typical of colonial Virginians in general than the lives of the wealthier planters, their families and slaves.[38]
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