Colonial Williamsburg
Trip Start
Aug 11, 2007
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17
68
Trip End
Nov 08, 2007
Williamsburg,
Virginia,
United States
Friday, August 31, 2007
Williamsburg is the site of one of the original English colonies in the US and has been continuously settled since the mid-1600's. The town became the capital of the Virginia Colony and became a key political centre of the revolution. Because of this there are a number of important early buildings in the town. The historic area of town was restored in the 1920's, financed heavily by the Rockefellers - they restored the historical buildings, removed all the later buildings and replaced them with historical replicas. This historical area now operates as Colonial Williamsburg - a living open air museum, with staff in historical costume and many participating in trades that would have been found in the colony around the time of the revolution - a foundry, shoe maker, silver smith, cabinet making, brick making, printing press etc
Chris testing Death By Chocolate
.We spent a whole day there and it was fascinating - especially watching and taking to some of the people working at the trades. They are very knowledgeable, not only about the trade, but also about the period and history of Williamsburg. In fact they are making real items - for instance the shoe maker makes replica shoes that are worn as part of the staff costumes; the cabinet makers are making beautiful replica fine furniture that I assume are sold to private buyers for vast sums (considering the amount of labour that goes into them); and the bricks from the brick yard are used in repairs, paving and new buildings in the complex.
The houses are beautifully maintained and they have very attractive gardens - both ornamental and edible. The plant varieties are supposed to be only those that were available and known to be grown in the colony at the time. Chris and I were particularly interested in what they were growing in the edible gardens - very similar to the range of veges and fruit we remember being grown in gardens when we were growing up (incl such old fashioned items as gooseberries). Tina was also surprised to see how many fig and persimmon trees there were.
The whole place is very attractive and well kept - perhaps too much so. The streets in the Colonial complex are tarmacked and pedestrian only. While there are a few horse and cart rides and a double ox cart that go around the streets, it is certainly a whole lot cleaner than it would have been in the late 1600's, with dirt roads that would have been very dusty in the summer and muddy in the winter and covered in horse and ox sh*t all year around! And some historians have complained that the complex is a Disneyland highly romanticised and sanitised view of the colonial town.
Despite this, it's a great place to visit - one we can highly recommend! - and the trade demonstrations are very, very interesting!
