Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg is a small town in Virginia that lives and breathes colonial history.

The buildings have either been restored or rebuilt to their original 1700’s condition. The people who work there pursue the crafts that the residents would have performed had they lived in colonial times.

Visiting Colonial Williamsburg is like stepping a few hundred years into the frozen past. 

A British military officer demonstrated how to use his musket to the kids. He loaded the weapon with gunpowder, packed the remaining powder and casing down the barrel, and fired into the brick wall.

The kids then enrolled in basic military training. They marched around the field when given commands, making swinging right and left turns. Some were a little faster than others and the line quickly disintegrated, but as an onlooker it was amusing for the parents to watch. 

Down by the courthouse, we found ourselves sentenced to time in the pillory… long enough for a picture anyway.  

The craftsmen at Williamsburg know their crafts well and can answer just about any question you throw at them. This man was repairing a set of shoes in need of a new sole. 

He said the women would have several sets of shoes in their closet, depending on occasion and outfit they were wearing. I’m assuming that would have been for the more wealthy among the colonists.

This man was in charge of printing newspapers at the printing press. He would put in a fresh sheet of paper, ink the plates, close the top frame and press the ink into place. The kids thought letter “s” was particularly interesting as it looked more like an “f” than an “s.” 

Here is a man hammering out the silver at the silversmiths. I believe he was working on a cup. Polishing the silver doesn’t leave any hammering marks in the finish product. They had a few of the silver creations in the gift shop so you can see what little trinkets they could make with their craft.  

This lady showed us how they cut out the silver from sheets.

The kids had a chance to speak with a local man. I believe his name was Henry Clay, if I remember right. He encouraged the children to pursue their education as he had neglected his own until later in life. 

This is the room owned by the Wythe family in which it is believe Thomas Jefferson sat and learned law. 

We were able to see court room proceedings for several different cases. Several were selected from the audience to be part of the judge panel and others were the plaintiffs. They read their cases off of papers given to them by the court clerk and so the judges officiated the cases.

The day ended with the British drum and fife corps. They were very good at playing and looking back at all the pictures I took of them, their eyes never left straight position to look at the people around them or the photographers trying to catch a photo of them. Well done! 🙂