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Colonial Williamsburg is one of those wonderful historical places which is a must see. Though it was very difficult to get
around on my electric scooter and hard to get around in a wheelchair. If you have limited mobility, I suggest you get a wheelchair,
as the walks are long and the terrain uneven.
Now, that I have given you your cautions you must visit.
The visitor’s center, which is located on the outskirts of town, is large and very impressive. If you are a history
buff you could spend weeks at Colonial Williamsburg, but if you want to make it just a one day stop, then start early in the
morning.
There is transportation from the visitor’s center to the center of town but this is for those with some mobility. Otherwise,
you can use the one of the many parking lots surrounding the town.
It is truly amazing how this town has been restored. You feel that you are back in a different time when you enter Williamsburg,
seeing the costumed volunteers and the buildings.
Now a quick history of Williamsburg:
Williamsburg was the thriving capital of Virginia when the dream of American freedom and independence was taking shape. The
colony was a rich and powerful land stretching west to the Mississippi River and north to the Great Lakes. For 81 formative
years, from 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, cultural, and educational center of what was then the largest, most
populous, and most influential of the American colonies. It was here that the fundamental concepts of the republic —
responsible leadership, a sense of public service, self-government, and individual liberty — were nurtured under the
leadership of patriots such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Peyton Randolph.
Near the end of the Revolutionary War and through the influence of Thomas Jefferson, the seat of government of Virginia was
moved up the peninsula to the safer and more centrally located city of Richmond. For nearly a century and a half afterward,
Williamsburg was a simple, quiet college town, home of the College of William and Mary.
In 1926, the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church, shared his dream of preserving the city's historic
buildings with philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., and the restoration began.
Dr. Goodwin feared that scores of structures that had figured in the life of the colony and the founding of the nation would
soon disappear forever. Rockefeller and Goodwin began a modest project to preserve a few of the more important buildings.
Eventually, the work progressed and expanded to include a major portion of the colonial town, encompassing approximately 85
percent of the 18th-century capital's original area.
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 funded the preservation of more
than 80 of the original structures, the reconstruction of many buildings, and the construction of extensive facilities to
accommodate the visiting public.
In the preservation of the setting of Virginia’s 18th-century capital, Mr. Rockefeller and Dr. Goodwin saw an opportunity
to ensure that the courageous ideals of the patriots who helped create the American democratic system live on for future generations.
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