We spent a few days in Williamsburg, VA so we could visit Colonial Williamsburg and also Jamestowne.

Colonial Williamsburg is very interesting.  Until about the 1920s it was a continuously occupied neighborhood, with many of the original buildings destroyed either by fire or by owners wishing to rebuild.  In the 1920-1930s a foundation to recreate Colonial Williamsburg was started, and they had archaeologists and architects and craftsmen determine where the original buildings were, dig down to the foundations, review original plats and plans and drawings and recreate the original buildings on the original sites.  These buildings include the Capital building, a courthouse, the Governors Palace, churches, shops and private residences.

These buildings are open to the public and are staffed by people who dress in period costumes and explain and show how life was back in the 1750s through the revolutionary war.  The shops include a coffeehouse from that time period where strong coffee, tea and hot chocolate (very different from what we call hot chocolate today) are served and there is a lively discussion about the current state (in the 1760s) of affairs.  Also there is a blacksmith where they make nails and other metal implements such as hoes and rakes, a kitchen where they bake bread and make rabbit stew, a cabinetmaker where furniture is being made, etc.  All these shops include tradesmen who know how to make these things just as they did back in the 1750-1770s.

During the afternoon they had “Revolution in the Streets” where there were scenes acted out in the streets that showed how the people thought, discussed, argued etc. over the possibility of declaring independence from England.  The afternoon finished up with the Fife and Drum Corp  marching down the main street (click here for a video) from the Capital to the courthouse and finishing with a review of the troops and gun and cannon demonstration.

We bought 3-day passes as it’s really too much to see in one day without becoming totally exhausted, and the shops are closed one or two days a week on various days.  Three days gave us a chance to see all the shops we wanted to see, take tours of the major buildings, see the “Revolutions in the Streets” acts and cannon/gun demonstrations at a more leisurely pace.

The colonial town is about 1 mile long and 1/2 mile wide and covers several blocks.  There’s a shuttle service constantly running around the perimeter so it was easy to get to the part of town we wanted to see, walk around a bit, then shuttle either back to the parking lot or to another part of town.

We also visited historic Jamestowne one day where we walked around the grounds.  They have done a lot of excavating in the historic town and had built partial walls to show where many of the original buildings were located.  There’s also a ‘recreated town’ a little ways away but we didn’t visit that.  It’s similar to Williamsburg with tradespeople in costume etc.  We did visit the glassblowers house which was very interesting.  Two glassblowers were working there and in just a few minutes they could make delicate pitchers and other glassware.

Here are pictures we took at both Williamsburg and Jamestowne: