Crafts-An introduction to the nation's most extensive pro­ gram of eighteenth-century working crafts. Contents Page 19

What Is Williamsburg?-A brief story of the restoration. The Historic Area-The large map (courtesy of the Na­ Page3 tional Geographic Society) offers convenient orientation to visitors and indicates adjoining facilities. Pages 22-23

Architecture and the Town Plan-A survey of the most important buildings, architectural style, and of the develop­ ment of one of America's first city plans. The Foundation-Its organization, Page5 scope, and financial structure. Page 24

The Gardens-A description of the varied gardens, which occupy about half the city's area. Dining-Colonial Williamsburg's taverns, restaurants, cof­ Page 11 fee shop, and cafeteria. Page 29

The Collections-A guide to the large assemblage of early English and American furnishings, many of which are on display in the exhibition buildings. Shopping. Page 31 Page 15

- 'R.golution and 7J£volution

What Is Williamsburg?

The restoration of 's surviVmg colonial capital began in 1926, when a rector of im­ parted his dream of preserving the city's historic buildings to John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin saw that scores of buildings that figured in the life of the colony and the founding of the nation would soon disappear forever, but only after he had shared his vision of saving them with a kindred spirit did it become a reality. The two men began a modest project to preserve a few of the more important buildings-but the work progressed and expanded to include the major portion of the colonial city, and approximately 85 percent of eighteenth-century Williamsburg has been preserved. Mr. Rockefeller gave the project his personal leadership until his death in 1960, and it was his quiet generosity of spirit and uncompromising ethic of excellence that guided and still dominates its development. He donated funds not only for the preservation of original structures still standing and the reconstruction of important buildings that had

Photograph from Ler;aqJ from the Past vanished, but also for the construction of public accom­ A sense of the past: Sunset on Dttke of J_;loucester Street, lao king past the Geddy modations. Silversmith Shop, where George Washington was once a customer, to Bruton Parish Church, one of America's oldest Episcopal churches. 'R..tfolution and evolutton

4 America 's Williamsburg

Today' s restoration, one of the most extensive ever under­ taken, offers visitors the exciting experience of seeing a small eighteenth-century city much as it must have been in George Washington's time. A dozen major exhibition buildings and almost twenty busy craft shops are open the year round. A rcl1itecture Though Mr. Rockefeller engaged in many projects of preservation and conservation, he seemed to find particular and the Town Plan satisfaction in his work here, declaring that: "The restoration of Williamsburg ... offered an oppor­ tunity to restore a complete area and free it entirely from alien or inharmonious surroundings as well as to preserve the beauty and charm of the old buildings and gardens of the city and its historic significance. Thus it made a unique and irresistible appeal. The buildings along Williamsburg's streets and greens "As the work has progressed, I have come to feel that are among the most important historic structures in the perhaps an even greater value is the lesson that it teaches United States. Together, they form the basis of a unique of the patriotism, high purpose, and unselfish devotion of city-wide museum, set within a city plan virtually intact, our forefathers to the common good." though it was drawn in 1699. Of all the colonial capitals of British America, only Williamsburg may be seen today much as it was in the eighteenth century, free from most modern encroachments. More than one hundred major buildings and homes with their extensive dependencies stand in the district known as the Historic Area, which is approximately one mile long "The Founding Fathers": and half a mile wide. This area is recorded as a registered The Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin, left, and Mr. national landmark by the of the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., United States Department of the Interior, and as a historic in the early days of the landmark by the commonwealth of Virginia. The cupola of the Wren restoration of Many of the most significant buildings in this area are Williamsburg. Building of the College open to the public, while a number of them are occupied of William and Mary, by life tenants and by employees of Colonial Williamsburg, the oldest academic building in continuous who lead active professional and social lives within the use in America. "museum city" itself. The restoration of Williamsburg made possible the preservation of eighty-eight original buildings that were

5 The harmony of design and setting that lends an air of openness and repose to Williamsburg is not accidental-but stems from the far­ sighted restrictions in the city plan of 1699.

still standing when the work commenced. They range from a college building even older than the city to modest homes of craftsmen, from a prison to dairies, from a powder mag­ azine to smokehouses, from elegant town residences and a public records office to well houses. These surviving buildings of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are preserved by Colonial Williamsburg in trust for future generations of Americans. The older buildings are not merely museum settings. Most of them were standing in Thomas Jefferson's days as a student, when he exercised by running through the city at dawn. Many were old when Washington came here as a bridegroom for his first session in the House of Burgesses­ and the town as a whole would be strikingly familiar to men who thronged the Capitol to hear Patrick Henry de­ nounce the Stamp Act in 1765. Williamsburg was the training ground for Virginia's revolutionary leaders, where they learned the ways of politics, law, and trade that prepared them for key roles in the struggle for independence. This small city was truly The simple treatment of among the important cradles of American independence. dormers, rakeboards, and The restoration of the city also included replacing im­ weatherboards adds The George was designed by , who gave it to his portant buildings that had disappeared by fire and neglect dignity to the most son-in-law, , first professor of law at the College of William and Mary and after the capital was moved to Richmond in 1780. Without modest house. Thomas Jefferson's law tutor. Wythe lived here until1790. This original house owes much of its distinction to its geometrical system of proportion. House, outbuildings, and gardens form a plantation layout in miniature.

6 7 America's Williamsburg 9

Those who enter the Historic Area fresh from the hectic pace of life in today' s cities quickly sense the intentions of the planners of Williamsburg. One of Colonial Williams­ burg's primary concerns is to preserve the sense of order and tranquility lent by the original city plan, and to shield the spacious landscape from twentieth-century intrusions. Observant visitors will note the endless variety of detail in the buildings-the varying pitch and shape of roofs, the frequent use of dormers for the sake of economy, the de­ signs of chimneys, here tall and slender, there massive and ornately decorated. Early builders were attentive to the smallest details. The beaded edge of weatherboards on frame houses, for example, were not merely decorative; the tiny hand-cut bead helped prevent warping and splintering of the wood. The ends of shingles were sometimes rounded, rather than square, so that they would not curl. Photograph from The Gardens of Williamsburg Spring dawn: The Capitol, seen across a nearby pasture on a foggy morning.

them, the visitor's grasp of decisive events in Williamsburg's past would have been lessened. Where possible these build­ ings were reconstructed on original foundations, after ex­ haustive documentary research and archaeological study. Williamsburg's houses and public buildings mirror their British inheritances, with adaptations to suit the Virginia Richness of detail as climate. The kinship of design, scale, and even atmosphere revealed in glazed brick headers, ornate between buildings, fences, streets, and greens is a heritage ironwork, and handmade from two remarkable early governors and planners, Francis windowpanes of the Nicholson and Alexander Spotswood. Allen-Byrd House. Nicholson, who had laid out the city plan of Annapolis a few years before, developed the plan of Williamsburg in 1699, and Spotswood expanded and refined it about fifteen years later. Together, they gave the city its sense of repose, an open, uncrowded appearance that endures to this day.

8 The Gardens

Williamsburg is a city within a vast garden. Virtually every building in the Historic Area is surrounded by lawns, shrubs, trees, flower borders, or vistas of open greens. More than one hundred gardens and greens lie within the small city, occupying 90 of its 175 acres. The re-created gardens of the city were included by Peter Coats, the noted British writer, among the half dozen from North America selected for his Great Gardens of the Western World. Coats praised the formal design of the Governor's Palace gardens as both "masterly" and "imposing," and he noted the high degree of authenticity in type achieved using the evidence existing at the time of reconstruction. Joan Parry Dutton, in Enjoying America's Gardens, described the Palace garden as a "great outdoor museum" of garden styles, where one can see what fashion has since retained or discarded. The plants in Williamsburg are only those native to tidewater Virginia or introductions known to eighteenth­ Field crops and dove­ century gardeners. Horticultural experts have compiled lists cotes are familiar sights in the city's gardens. of hundreds of such plants in a research effort now almost fifty years old. Few gardens have been created on the basis The gardens ol the Governor's Palace as .seen from the air. of such extensive research. Much of the charm of Williams-

10 11 - %solution and evolutron

America's Williamsburg 13

just off Palace Green. The fruit was "very refreshing," he said, "The most juicy apple I have ever known." Visitors will note the variety of garden types and designs -the formal pleasure gardens of the Palace and the simple The charms of a tavern kitchen and dooryard gardens, even informal plantings of garden-outbuildings, wildflowers. fences, flowering trees, Archaeology revealed original marl paths on the site of colorful flower borders. the Palace gardens, the remains of steps leading to the canal, and the old waterline of the canal itself. Traces of the John Custis garden provided unexpected evidence of early plantings. Archaeologists discovered in an old well at the Custis house site numerous branches, twigs, seeds, and nuts that had been sealed against deterio­ ration since the second half of the eighteenth century, among them holly and boxwood leaves still green after more than 180 years. Scholars identified from the well twenty-one species then growing in Williamsburg, as they grow today. Reconstruction of the John Custis house and garden, at some time in the future when funds permit, will offer an burg landscapes is due to the exclusive use of authentic extraordinary insight into the life and horticultural interests plant material. and achievements of this exceptional resident of eighteenth­ The tradition is as old as the city, whose first gardeners century Williamsburg. found the climate and soil nearly ideal. A Swiss traveler in The trees of the Historic Area are of especial importance 1702 reported that the earth was so fruitful "almost every­ to the colonial scene. The Foundation gives them constant care to protect them from damage and disease and has thing grows that is put into the ground." A generation later established a nursery for raising new stock. Today there John Custis wrote a friend in London, "I have a pretty are more than 3, 000 trees in the Historic Area. little garden in which I take more satisfaction than in any­ For more than two and a half centuries gardens have thing in this world and have a collection of tolerable good been near the heart of the city's life. Thomas Jefferson, for flowers and greens from England." example, once wrote to a friend in London, hoping that Hidden beauty: each A later observer, Thomas Jefferson, wrote in 1766 from she might visit Virginia, "I have been planning what I house, however small, Annapolis to his friend John Page, "The houses are in has a garden of its own. would shew you: a flower here, a tree there; yonder a general better than those at Williamsburg, but the gardens grove, near it a fountain; on this side a hill, on that a are more indifferent." Jefferson collected seeds from the river. Indeed, Madam, I know nothing so charming as our city for his own garden at Monticello, among them a swamp own country. mallow and an apple tree from George Wythe's garden

12 The Collections

The public exhibition buildings of Colonial Williamsburg are furnished from one of the world's great collections of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English and American furnishings. The collections are among the most varied of their kind anywhere, with great range in the fields of furniture, silver and other metals, ceramics, textiles, prints and paintings, and other accessories. More than 100,000 original items have been assembled. These objects are used exclusively in the interpretation of the life of early Williamsburg. They are shown in the 211 period rooms of the exhibition buildings. The collections have been built over nearly fifty years with the goal of assembling a group of antiques "second to no collection of its kind in the country." Until his death in 1960 Mr. Rockefeller personally approved major additions to the collections, and once he had considered the beauty and worth of each object, he invariably asked, "Is this the Military equipment, too, kind of thing that would have been in Williamsburg?" must be assembled by The collections attract scholars in the fields of the dec­ the curators. orative arts from many nations. Though these fine objects could be housed under one roof to form one of the world's "His Lordship's Bed Chamber" of the 9overnor's Palace. Specified in the Palace great museums, they have quite another purpose here. The inventory of 1770, made after Lord Botetourt's death, were a mahogany bedstead with g1·een hangings, a small chest of drawers, and "one Wash bason & mahog. stand compleat with a dressing Glass." Stockings, caps, shoe buckles, and a chamber pot were also listed. 14 15 America 's Willia msburg 17

is that their arrangement in the buildings is not only pleas­ ing but convincing." Curators who built the collection from its beginnings in the 1920s realized that it could never be complete, however large and impressive it might be. There is a continuing effort to expand the knowledge of Williamsburg interiors through documentary research and archaeology, to create even more effective settings. Generous donors have added priceless pieces to the permanent collections. The world-wide search for appropriate pieces has re­ sulted in a uniquely varied collection, since curators are called upon to display the possessions of a whole society that included indentured servants and slaves as well as royal governors and wealthy masters of great plantations. To furnish the entire town, curators have acquired virtually every conceivable type of object. Fortunately, they have been aided by such revealing documents as inventories of personal effects of eighteenth­ century Williamsburg residents, including Lord Botetourt, who died in the Palace in 1770; Peyton Randolph, the first president of the Continental Congress; and Henry Wether­

Photograph from The WilliamsburK Collection of Antique Furnishings burn, a well-known tavern-keeper. The residences of each of these men are now open to the public, and the inven­ The height of elegance: The dining room of the Governor's Palace, furnished with items similar to those in the inventory of 1770, including the rare Chelsea porcelain figurines on tories have been used as guides to interior furnishings. the mantel, knife and fork boxes, and a silver breadbasket.

collections on display in the exhibition buildings fill an important role in the interpretation of social history, offer­ ing the visitor vivid, immediate glimpses of colonial daily life. A lovely silver-gilt salver made in London about 1730- This fact has been pointed out by Alice Winchester, Governor Botetourt owned the distinguished former editor of Antiques magazine: "The four salvers when he occupied antiques at Williamsburg are even more than an outstand­ the Palace in 1770. ing collection. In their present setting they have two virtues that are particularly impressive. One is that they are so thoroughly documented ... the other impressive thing ...

16 Crafts

Thirty-six separate crafts are practiced in Williamsburg. Staffed by almost 150 people, this program, as far as is known, is the most extensive of its kind in the United States, and if relocated in some other place would become a major attraction in itself. The primary purpose of the program is to show visitors how a vital element of the colonial population worked and what they made. Other purposes are to preserve early craft techniques from the danger of being lost, and to pass on the traditions of the self-reliant artisans of long ago. Visitors whose tickets admit them to the buildings may see unusually talented men and women at work, using hand tools and the careful methods of the preindustrial era. For many years, visitors to the city have singled out the crafts program as one of the most rewarding aspects of their experience in Williamsburg. A gunsmith decorates a An amazing variety of skills is displayed in these shops, rifle stock with an where craftsmen turn out baskets, andirons, saddles, intricate design. musical instruments (even harpsichords), rifles, fine furni­ ture, barrels, boots, woolen blankets, candles, silver bowls and coffee pots, hats, jewelry, leather-bound books, hand­ made paper, brass candlesticks.

Expert and dedicated men and women demonstrate thirty-six crafts for Williamsburg's visitors. Among the most popular shops is the spinning and weaving house.

18 19 evolutron ------~------~------

20 America's Williamsburg

Many of the craftsmen have spent long years learning their trade-beginning craftsmen serve four years as ap­ prentices. A few have risen to the rank of master craftsmen, men who have dedicated their lives to this work. A program of apprentice training is now producing its fourth genera­ tion of competent journeymen. The Williamsburg crafts effort began with the opening of the blacksmith shop almost forty years ago, and as more crafts have been added, research materials and other re­ sources have been assembled to ensure continuance of the program. Accumulated knowledge is shared with other preservation projects in many nations. As an aid to public appreciation of eighteenth-century craftsmen, Colonial Williamsburg has published a series of popular booklets on local crafts, and has produced six widely distributed films, on the cooper, basketmakers, gunsmith, blacksmith, The Milliner's Shop The Master Silversmith printer, and silversmith. Today's master craftsmen, journeymen, and apprentices are heirs of traditions of fine local craftsmanship older than The Cooper Dipping Candles Williamsburg itself-for a London silversmith settled on this site (then called Middle Plantation) in 1694, five years before the founding of this capital city. Throughout the eighteenth century hundreds of other skilled people carried on a flourishing crafts industry in Williamsburg. During the century the small town supported more than thirty wig­ The musical instrument maker at work on a makers, twenty-four leatherworkers, sixteen silversmiths, harpsichord. eleven cabinetmakers, seven gunsmiths, six milliners. Aided by Benjamin Franklin, the early Virginia printer and publisher William Parks opened a paper mill near Williamsburg in the 1730s. The printing shop of Parks is in operation today on its original site. Modern Williamsburg craftsmen work at the same pace that governed the daily lives of their predecessors. To a remarkable degree they share the dignity and sense of accomplishment of colonial Americans who furnished the society of their day with so many objects essential to daily living. COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG In this painstakingly restored capital of Virginia, eighteenth-century America lives again for the twenti eth century to observe and enjoy. In preparing the painting, the artist has omitted many trees to I better show buildings and streets. Only those structures rendered in color are parts of the historic area. \ I 61 LEVINGSTON KITCHEN ._,. __ S4 93 PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, COLLEGE I. 33 DAVID MORTON HOUSE ·--1 F6 FOLK ART COLLECTION -··•1•··- C I 34 DAVIDSON SHOP ,. .,. " '"''H ,, C5 62 LEWIS HOUSE ... ,, ,.,, .,, CJ OF WILLIAM .4.NO MARY ,. '"' A2 \ 2. ALEXANDER CRAIG HOUSE ••••.••• DS 35. OR. BARRAUO HOUSE ..._ ,, ·- C4 63 LIGHTFOOT KITCHEN ---C< 94 PAINTING OFFICE , POST OFFICE , AND BINDERY ...., ...... ,, ..... -. C4 3 AlEXANDER PURDIE HOUSE ,,.~, OS 36 DRAPER HOUSE •1 •• , •• ,. .. - ...... , £6 64 LIGHTFOOT HOUSE -t-"'"""'' C-4 4 AllEN BYRD HOUSE _.,,.__..__,. CJ 37 EliZABETH CARLOS HOUSE .,.... ~ 1 f7 65 LUOWEll-PARADISE HOUSE _ •• ,.. C4 95 PUBLIC GAOL •w·- ...... D7 5. AllEN· BYRD TENEMENT m .•••.•.•• C2 38 EUZ.b.BETH REYNOlDS HOUSE C5 66 LUOWELL TENEMENT -· ... -_...... 85 96. PUBliC RECORDS OfFICE ·-· , D6 6 ANTHONY HAY' S 39 ElKAN.b.H DEANE HOUSE ••• , 84 67, MtKENZIE'S APOTHECARY SHOP ~. B4 97 AND BAKERY -· OS CABINET MAKING SHOP I+• .. ,._, CS 40 ElKAN.4H DEANE SHOP AND FORGE 68 MAGAZINE n-tt• ... , •• ,..., .. ,_,., 83 98 ROBERTSON'S WINDMill ... .., 85 7 ARCHIU.LD BLAIR HOUSE ··""''' 84 (8LACKSMITH -H.6.RNESSM.4.KER) ...... , A4 69 MAGAZINE GUAROHOUSf ,., C3 99 ROSCOW COLE LAUNDRY -·· _, B2 8 AYSCOUGH HOUSE (GUNSMITH) ES 41 EWING HOUSE ...... - 04 70 MARGARET HUNTER SHOP 100. ROSCOW COLE OFFICE . 82 9 BENJ.6.MIN WALLER HOUSE '"'" F6 42 GEORGE J.4.CKSON HOUSE (MILLINER) ,...,...... ,._, .. ,,._,, CS 101 RUSSELL HOUSE " ... --- C5 10 BLAIKLEY-OURFEY HOUSE --A2 AND STORE F7 71 MARKET SQUARE PUMP ~· ,., • B3 102. ST, GEORGE TUCKER HOUSE ... 84 11 , BOOT AND SHOEMAKER'S SHOP •• BJ 43 GEORGE WYTHE HOUSE 84 72. MARKET SQUARE T.4.VEAN .... CJ 103, SCRIVENER HOUSE , .... .• 0.5 12 BRACKEN CARTER HOUSE ,....,,,. CJ 44 GOVERNOR'S P.4.LACE 85 73 MAROT'S ORDINARY ...... _,, ,., -.. D5 104 SEMPLE HOUSE .-----· ... E5 13 BRACKEN HOUSE .... -· .. - CJ 45 GREENHOW-REPITON 74 MARY STITH SHOP ·--·-··-" C4 105 SIGN OF THE RHINOCEROS ... 1.. C4 14. BRICK HOUSE TAVERN ••• .,. •••• , ••• C-4 BRICK OFFICE " ...... 11 83 75 MASONIC KITCHEN • C4 106 SPINNING AND 15 BRUSH -EVERARD HOUSE ~-··· 1 ~- 8<~ 46 GREEN HOW REPITON HOUSE B3 76 MOIA SHOP ..- .....,.....,_._,._,., E6 WEAVING HOUSE . - ••-- S3 16 BRUTON PARISH CHURCH - 83 47 HARTWELL PERRY'S ORDINARY B3 71 MOODY HOUSE ••a.,. ... ,..,, C4 107 TAUAFERRO-COLE HOUSE u-U·•• A2 17. BRYAN HOUSE ,, ••...... ,, .•..•••••••••• A2 48. HOLT'S STOREHOUSE •• H ...~ ••·--·• C4 78 NELSON GALT HOUSE • 05 l OB. TARPLEY'S STORE ...... 1 ... ,. C4 18 BUROETIE'S ORDINARY •• .•• ._ 06 49 HUNTER'S STORE -•·· - , C4 79 NICOLSON HOUSE .-. F7 109 TAYLOE HOUSE ••- ••-•-• CS 19 CAPITOL ,,, ••• ••• •••• £6 50 INFORMATION CENTER •••• ou BB 80 NICOLSON SHOP 05 110 THE BLUE BELL 1u,. u- ,,., , E7 20 CAPTAIN ORR'S DWELLING . . C-4 51 ISHAM GOODIN SHOP ,, --• .u F7 81. NORTON COLE HOUSE ...... ~. B3 111 THE BRAFFERTON •• 1 ••• ___. AI 21 CAIHER -MOUI HOUSE ••• .... E5 52 JOHN BLAIR HOUSE -"-~-"·- A2 82 ORLANDO JONES HOUSE ·- h C-4 112 THE GOLDEN BAll (CLOCKMAKER· 22 CARTt:liloSAUNOERS HOUSE ,,,._ B4 53 JOHN CARTER'S STORE ,.,, ,,. 05 83 ORREll HOUSE .. ; ,....,.. ,._.,.. w CJ JEWELER ENGRAVER) .... ., ... ,, , OS 23 CHARlTON HOUSE , , ,,, 05 54 JOHN COKE OFFICE --- ••- ...., 05 84 PALMER HOUSE ...... u, 05 113 THE QUARTER ·-·--•• CJ ~ 4 2<4 CHISWEll-BUCKTROUT HOUSE 04 55 JOHN CRUMP,tiOUSE 1,. ,,,, ....,, 05 85 PASTEUR-GAlT I THE REO LION .,, .... ,, ... 1, ... , , C4 25 CHOWNING'S TAVERN - ... B4 56 JOHN GREENHOW HOUSE APOTHECARY SHOP •-••· .. u 05 11 5 TRAVIS HOUSE ., ·~- •·••n AI 26 CHRISTIANA CAMPBEll' S TAVERN E7 AND STORE •. ,__..,. -- 83 86, PETER HAY'S SHOP ...... ~. , u C4 116 UNICORN'S HORN ••- _,. 05 27 COKE -GARREn HOUSE ..... -····- E7 57 JAMES ANDERSON HOUSE , ...... , C4 87 - -• 84 ll 7 WATERS-COLEMAN HOUSE •.•• ,,.,, C5 28 CONfERENCE CENTER ··-·-· 81 58 JAMES GEDOY HOUSE AND SHOP 88 Pin -DIXON HOUSE ,, ,, C4 11 8 WETHERBUAN'S TAVERN .,,..... " CS 29. COURTHOUSE OF 1770 ... .. R4 (SILVERSMITH) -• IU 89 POWEll'S TENEMENT ._ ,._, ,. E7 119 _ ... , C2 JO CRAFT HOUSE C2 59 KING'S ARMS BARBER SHOP 90 POWELL WALKER HOUSE ,_, , 1 E8 120, WILLIAMSBURG LODGE --·n·--n·" Cl 31 CUSTIS KITCHEN ...... _ Bl (WIGMAKER) ., ,,.. ,,. C5 91 PRENTIS HOUSE ,.. CS 121 WILLIAM RANDOLPH LODGINGS CS 32. CUSTIS-MAUPIN HOUSE._., .. ,_ .. BJ 60. KI N G'S ARMS TAV ER N 05 92 PRENTIS STORE -· ·-•• _ ,. C-4 122. WU I'f .5 UI~NG - ~ t' tufa'. ~ - "' America 's Williamsburg 25

or financial relationship exists, for example, between Colonial Williamsburg and the Rockefeller Foundation, as is sometimes assumed. The Colonial Williamsburg Responsibility for the management of the affairs of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation rests entirely with its Foundation Board of Trustees, a body of distinguished Americans who provide a wide variety of experience from their diversified T fields of endeavor and who reside in many different parts of the United States. They serve without pay. The chief executive officer of the Foundation is its president, who resides in Williamsburg. A staff of nearly 600 costumed individuals is needed to present and interpret the exhibitions in the Historic Area to the public. Encompassing 173 acres and nearly 500 Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg often ask questions buildings, the continuing maintenance of Historic Area about the nature of the organization and its management, properties requires a force of nearly 100 carpenters, painters, the breadth and scope of its operations, and the sources mechanics, and custodians. More than 50 gardeners are and adequacy of its financial support. Here, very briefly, regularly employed to maintain the landscape features and are answers to a number of these questions. the plant materials of the gardens and greens. Unseen by "Colonial Williamsburg" most visitors are another 350 employees engaged daily in the work of various support operations. These represent "Colonial Williamsburg" is the term popularly used to scores of different skills and talents, and include curators, refer to the physical restoration of eighteenth-century architects, historians, archaeologists, draftsmen, seam­ Williamsburg begun almost fifty years ago through the stresses, accountants, and many others. generosity and foresight of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and to Some 1500 other employees are engaged in the operation the nonprofit Virginia corporation established by Mr. of the hotels, restaurants, and merchandising activities re­ Rockefeller to carry out this undertaking. The Colonial lated to the fundamental purposes of Colonial Williams­ Williamsburg Foundation is the corporate name of that burg. All net income from these operations is applied every organization. year to the maintenance and carrying forward of Historic The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is entirely sepa­ Area work and programs. Archaeologists at work: More than 192,000 rate and independent from any other foundation or orga­ Annual Costs of Operations and Sources of Funds artifacts were excavated nization and from all branches of government. It receives at the site of Wether­ no financial support from any source other than its own The educational and preservation undertakings of Co­ burn's Tavern, all operations, il'lvestment income from a permanent endow­ contributing to knowl­ lonial Williamsburg now require annual expenditures of edge of the daily life of ment, or from individual contributors. No administrative nearly $13,000,000. This includes the costs of research, of colonial days.

24 'R.!Jolution and evolutron

26 Americas William>burg Americas Williamsburg 27

preserving and maintaining the buildings and grounds, the. ~~eration of the hotels, restaurants, merchandising of presenting and interpreting the exhibitions and crafts to activities, and rental properties of the Foundation. the public, of caring for the collections of furnishings, and the general administrative functions in support of these Taxes activities. At least half of this annual expense is attributable di­ The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a nonprofit rectly to the exhibition of the eighteenth-century buildings educational organization exempt from the payment of to the public, the operation of the crafts, and the furnishing federal income taxes in accordance with Section 501 (c) ( 3) of visitor facilities and services at the Information Center. of the Internal Revenue Code (except that net income from Besides these major costs, there are innumerable related operation of the Williamsburg Inn, the Williamsburg expenses. As examples, nearly $250,000 goes every year to Lodge, the Motor House, the Cascades Restaurant, and the provide adequate staffing and equipment of the security Cafeteria is taxable to the same extent as any other such force working in the Historic Area; the design and hand­ business enterprise). The organization is classified as a manufacture of authentic eighteenth-century wardrobes­ publicly supported foundation, in accordance with Section from ball gowns to craftsmen's work shirts-cost nearly 509 (a) ( 2) of the code. Gifts and contributions made to $300,000 each year; providing an essential bus service con­ the Foundation are tax deductible. necting the Information Center and the Historic Area costs The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation pays real estate another $500,000 annually; the day-to-day maintenance of taxes to the city of Williamsburg on all properties it owns buildings, grounds, and equipment in the Historic Area­ within the city, with the exception of the ten major exhibi­ the equivalent of a small city-by painters and carpenters, tion buildings, the Information Center, the Abby Aldrich mechanics and electricians, gardeners and groundskeepers, Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, Market Square, and Crowd Pleasers: The costs just under $2,000,000. Palace Green. The excepted buildings and greens are Colonial Williamsburg exempt from real estate taxation under Virginia law. Militia and the Fifes To meet annual expenditures of this magnitude, as well and Drums drill on as to ensure the Foundation's ability to continue works of Market Square. Colonial Williamsburg's historic preservation and restoration in future years, the publications, both scholarly-and popular, organization depends prima1'ily on the purchase of admis­ now number eighty-six sions by the visiting public. Admissions income, along with titles. the sale of craft objects, publications, and other educa­ tional materials, must provide more than one-half of the revenues needed by the Foundation. Investment income from the permanent endowment established by Mr. Rockefeller makes up about one-third. In recent years, other generous friends of Williamsburg, through cash contributions and gifts of objects, have joined in support of the work of the Foundation. The balance is represented by net income received from ~lW ,. 'l(golution and 'Rt_polution

Dining

Dining is one of the great pleasures of a visit to Williams­ burg. Epicures will find a rich variety of food and settings in restaurants and dining rooms operated by the Foundation. Three colonial taverns serve luncheon and dinner in traditional Virginia style-King's Arms Tavern and Chown­ ing's Tavern on Duke of Gloucester Street, and Christiana Campbell's Tavern on Waller Street, just to the east of the Capitol. Dinner reservations are required most of the year and may be secured by calling 229-2141. Colonial Williamsburg also serves breakfast, luncheon, and dinner in contemporary settings at the Williamsburg Inn, and the dining room and coffee shop of the Williams­ burg Lodge. The Inn and Lodge are adjacent to the Historic Area off Francis Street. As part of the Information Center-Cascades-Motor House complex, meals are also offered at the Cascades Restaurant and the Cafeteria. Gracious modern dining Dinner reservations may be made at the Williamsburg Inn in the Regency Dining and the Cascades Restaurant by calling 229-2141. For Room of Williamsburg Inn. dinner in the Regency Dining Room of Williamsburg Inn, men are required to wear a jacket and tie .

..,. Dining in the eighteenth-century style: Traditional dishes adapted from time-tested recipes are features of Colonial Williamsburg's three colonial taverns- the King's Arms, Christiana Campbell's and Josiah Chowning's. Photograph from The Williamsburg Cookbook 29 Shopping in Williamsburg

The shops of Colonial Williamsburg cater to the cosmo­ politan tastes of visitors from throughout the world. All are within walking distance of the main attractions of Colonial Williamsburg. On Duke of Gloucester Street, in the Historic Area, are Tarpley's Store and Prentis Store, where a variety of items, from sealing wax, quill pens, and ink to handsome ironwork is available. At the silversmiths' shops-James Geddy and the Golden Ball-silver, pewter, and brassware are also on sale. These are all items made by or for Colonial Williamsburg's extensive crafts program. Between Williamsburg Inn and Williamsburg Lodge is Craft House, where authentic reproductions of antique pieces in the Williamsburg collection are displayed and sold. Furniture and decorative accessories, choice gifts, pot­ tery, china, prints, maps, books, games, and puzzles-all Handmade items from true to the designs of the colonial era-may be purchased. the Williamsburg craft program are on sale at A hallmark identifies each Williamsburg®Reproduction and Tarpley's Store and guarantees superior quality, workmanship, and complete Prentis Store on Duke of authenticity. Gloucester Street. There are gift shops at Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge, the Cafeteria, and the Cascades Restaurant, plus a The Decorative Arts: Craft House, operated by Colonial Williamsburg, offers a variety of furnishings and accessories, most of them created by manufacturers licensed by the publications sales desk at the Information Center. Apparel Foundation. Authentic reproductions and adaptations of fine antiques are on sale here.

30 31 'R.!Jolution and evolutton

32 America's Williamsburg

and equipment for the active sportsman is offered at the sports shop at the golf course Clubhouse. COME You may walk to , at the western end Carter's of Duke of Gloucester Street near the College of William Grove and Mary. This is an unusual shopping center with almost fifty shops, stores, and offices, offering a wide variety of unique products and modern services. The Williamsburg Six miles southeast of Wil­ Theatre shows current films in the evening. liamsburg on U.S. Route 60, overlookingtheJamesRiver, is Carter's Grove-named by Guest Rooms and Recreation Robert"King" Carter, owner of more than 1,000 slaves Three hotels, the Williamsburg Inn, the Williamsburg and some 300,000 acres of the colony's best lands. Built in 1754 by King Carter's grandson, the restored plantation Lodge, and The Motor House-all part of Colonial Wil­ house is now owned and exhibited by Colonial Williamsburg. liamsburg-offer gracious accommodations, with full sports Architectural historians are virtually unanimous that the interior woodwork, still intact facilities, to thousands of Williamsburg visitors. toda is the finest in Virginia. Hu