Williamsburg - 6/28/16

Today we visited Williamsburg.  This city was founded in 1632 as Middle Plantation as a fortified settlement on high ground between the James and York rivers.  It was the capital of the Virginia colony from 1699 to 1780 and was the center of political events in Virginia leading up to the Revolutionary War.  The College of William and Mary was founded in Williamsburg in 1693 and is the second oldest college in the United States.  After the state house in Jamestown was burned down in 1676, the legislators temporarily met in Williamsburg while the state house was rebuilt and found that is was a safer more pleasant environment.  When the Jamestown state house burned down again in 1698, the capital was relocated to Middle Plantation.  The name of the settlement was changed to Williamsburg in honor of King William III of England, and a new state house was built.

Here is a photo of the rebuilt state house.  This is a copy of the state house that existed on this site from 1705 to 1747.  The original buildings had either burned down or were sold for their bricks.  This building was completed and dedicated in 1934.

It is know as the House of Burgesses and as can be seen has two wings with an elevated section connecting the two sides.  The right side is where the Burgesses, who were elected representatives of the people, met  in a room on the first floor.  Here is a picture of the chair that was used by the speaker.  This is the actual chair that was used in the 17th and 18th centuries.  For many years they had a replica on display but several years ago the original chair was found gathering dust in a closet in Richmond and it was returned to Williamsburg.

Here is another photo of the room.  The woman in the period costume was our tour guide.  All of the working staff of Colonial Williamsburg were dressed in period costumes and spoke as if they were still living in the 18th century.  As can be seen in these photos this room was very plain and the seats for the Burgesses were simple benches around the room.

In the other wing the Royal Governor and his Council met in a much more elegant room on the second floor, as they were direct representatives of the King.  This was known as the Council Chambers and here is a photo.

Whenever joint meetings of the Burgesses and the Governor and his Council were required they would meet in this assembly room on the second floor of the center section that connects the peoples side and the royal government side.  This room was also used for parties, musical performances, etc.  Here is a photo.

On the first floor of the government side was the General Court.

Here is a photo of the rear of the building.

After the tour of the state house we had some lunch and then proceeded to check out the recreated stores and facilities that make up Colonial Williamsburg.  This photo shows the interior of an apothecary

The apothecary was a drug store, dental clinic and doctor's office all in one.  This photo taken in the back of the apothecary show some of the tools used to care for local citizens.

This photo is of the armory where cannons and powder were stored on the first floor, small arms stored on the second floor and miscellaneous items on the third floor.

This next photo is of the County Courthouse which was built in 1771.  It was used as the courthouse for James City and York counties and for the city of Williamsburg.  We were able to go inside and sit thru a couple of mock trials.

Here are two yoke of oxen.  Oxen were preferred for heavy work as they are stronger than horses and less expensive to maintain.  Oxen are castrated bulls that are paired from an early age so that they learn to work together.

This next photo is of the palace of the Royal Governor.  Obviously this is where the Royal Governor and his family lived.  It was completed in 1722 after 16 years of construction with many delays for additional funding to complete the building.  This building was home to seven governors including Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson.  The building was destroyed in a fire in 1781 and the bricks sold off.  The site was was purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1928 and after excavations to uncover the original foundation, the building was rebuilt and opened in 1934.

This is the Brush - Everard House.  This house was built in 1718 by John Brush, a gunsmith and armorer, and he lived in it until his death in 1727.  It then passed thru several owners until finally being purchased by Thomas Everard in the 1750s.  Everhard served as clerk of the York County Court from 1745 until his death in 1781.  Since his death the house has had many owners until it was purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and restored to its 1773 configuration in the 1940s.  This is one of the few buildings in Colonial Williamsburg that are basically original.

This is the parlor with an interesting card table.

Here is the fireplace.  The very shiny green paint was typical of this era.  Lighting was only from the fireplace and candles so they wanted walls that were as reflective as possible to help with the lighting.

This is one of the bedrooms in the house with its typical lumped mattress.

This completed our visit to Williamsburg.  Tomorrow we head to Vienna, VA to visit my brother Gary.