by Beth Luberecki
Stroll down Colonial Williamsburg’s Duke of Gloucester Street, and you’re just as likely to spot a gentleman wearing a powdered wig and waistcoat as you are to see a gaggle of kids sporting Crocs. Sorority girls, with iPods in hand, jog the one-mile stretch, weaving around the horse-drawn carriages, camera-toting tourists, and bonnet-clad interpreters moving about town. It’s a place where the eighteenth century meets the twenty-first head on, and it exists today thanks to two forward-thinking men who knew it was worth preserving.
Williamsburg served as the capital of the colony of Virginia from 1699 to 1780, and during that time it was the stomping grounds of a number of big names in American history. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Mason all walked these streets at some point, playing a part in the colony’s government and in the formation of the United States.
Students also came to the city to attend the College of William and Mary. Founded in 1693, it’s the second-oldest college in the United States and counts among its alumni U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler as well as modern-day celebs like Glenn Close, Perry Ellis, and Jon Stewart.
When Virginia’s capital moved to Richmond in 1780, things slowed down in Williamsburg. The college still drew folks to town, but over the years many of the historic buildings, in which some of America’s founding fathers had discussed topics like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, fell into disrepair or were even torn down.
By the early twentieth century, Williamsburg was in danger of losing its past. That’s when Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Williamsburg’s Bruton Parish Church, stepped in and enlisted philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. to help preserve and restore the city’s historic landmarks. Work began in 1926, and since 1932 more than one hundred million visitors have explored Colonial Williamsburg’s 301 acres, which include eighty-eight original structures and five hundred reconstructed buildings.
The largest living history museum in the United States, Colonial Williamsburg highlights the period between 1774 and 1781. Historic interpreters take on the roles of everyone from Thomas Jefferson to eighteenth-century tradesmen to demonstrate what life was like in Virginia during the Revolutionary War years.
At the east end of the historic area sits the Capitol Building, where Patrick Henry delivered his “Caesar-Brutus” speech against the Stamp Act on May 29, 1765. After the Virginia government moved to Richmond, the building served stints as an admiralty court, law school, military hospital, grammar school, and women’s academy before half of it was demolished and half of it burned down. Today, tours of the reconstructed brick building help illustrate how the colonists lived under and ultimately decided to break free from British rule.
Duke of Gloucester Street is lined with historic homes and buildings, many of which are open to the public, so a stroll down the thoroughfare is a good way to get an overview of Colonial Williamsburg. Several shops located along the route offer a look at the lives and work of a variety of colonial craftsmen and -women, from milliners to silversmiths to wig makers.
At the brick Courthouse building, with its white portico and octagonal cupola, visitors can participate in mock trials based on actual eighteenth-century cases that illuminate the meaning of phrases like “rule of thumb.” Outside, the stocks and pillory make for a popular photo spot.
Across the road are Market Square, where hats, ceramics, and other goods are still sold today, and the Magazine, which was the town’s arsenal. The Gunpowder Incident that took place here in April 1775 helped spur Virginia into rebellion. Today, the site displays a collection of original and reproduction muskets and cannons and holds periodic musket-firing demonstrations, much to the delight of many little boys touring the historic district.
Continuing west on Duke of Gloucester, or “DoG Street” as it’s often called, visitors come upon Bruton Parish Church. The parish was formed in the late 1660s, and the current circa-1715 structure remains in use today by the Anglican Church. Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, and Tyler all worshipped here, as did the colony’s royal governors, who had their own canopied chair near the altar.
Located just to the north of DoG Street are the George Wythe House and the Governor’s Palace. The former was inhabited by George Wythe, a prominent colonial-era lawyer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia’s first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Wythe is said to have greatly influenced the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, who called him “my faithful and beloved Mentor in youth, and my most affectionate friend through life.” Today, the two-story brick house welcomes the public for tours and is furnished to appear as it might have when Wythe and his wife, Elizabeth, lived there.
Completed in 1722, the elegant Governor’s Palace was considered one of Virginia’s finest buildings and served as inspiration for many of the colony’s grand plantation homes. The Georgian-style brick residence boasted three floors, a cellar with eleven wine bins, extensive formal gardens, and a number of outbuildings. Seven royal governors lived here, as did Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson when they served as governor of Virginia.
A fire destroyed the building in 1781, and the College of William and Mary erected two school buildings at the site after the Civil War. When Colonial Williamsburg purchased the property in 1928, it conducted an archaeological investigation that revealed the Palace’s original footings. Today, the reconstructed building is furnished to reflect the tenure of Governor Dunmore, and tours take in the leather-walled reception room, entrance hall with its collection of bayonet-tipped muskets, and other living spaces.
At the west end of DoG Street sits the Wren Building. Said to have been influenced by the work of English architect Sir Christopher Wren, the circa-1695 building, part of the College of William and Mary, is the oldest academic structure still in use in America. Several fires damaged the building over the years, but today it looks much as it did in the mid-1700s.
A voyage back in time can certainly work up an appetite, and the four taverns in the historic area allow visitors to dine as the colonists did. George Washington was said to have been a fan of the seafood-centric offerings at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern, and Chowning’s Tavern is a popular spot for colonial-style drinks, games, and entertainment. For a quick bite, head to the Cheese Shop in Merchants Square, where sandwiches topped with creamy house dressing have been a favorite of William and Mary students since 1971.
There are, of course, any number of more modern diversions in the Williamsburg area, from the shops at Merchants Square to the wild rides at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. But none of that would likely exist without the presence of the historic area. And by bringing Colonial Williamsburg back to life, Reverend Dr. Goodwin and John D. Rockefeller Jr. helped to show generations of schoolchildren, history buffs, and tourists that the past has just as many twists and turns and ups and downs as any high-tech roller-coaster.
A graduate of the College of William and Mary, Beth Luberecki is a Venice, Florida–based freelance writer and the features editor of Times of the Islands and RSW Living. She really wishes that the Cheese Shop had a location in Florida.