Images of Colonial Williamsburg

Today, we spent the first of three days in restored 18th century Williamsburg, VA. As you can see by the photo above, the good weather has returned. You need good weather to see Williamsburg as it is all out of doors and all walking. Williamsburg is beautifully laid out in a grid pattern with wide streets and parks throughout, similar to Savannah. Williamsburg is a snapshot in the time before the Revolution, a true English colonial city, established in 1699 and capital of the Virginia colony until 1780, shortly before the surrender of the English at Yorktown. Throughout Williamsburg, there are guides dressed in costumes representative of the times. At the Visitors Center, you can rent costumes so you can join in the fun. While we didn't see any adult visitors dressed in costumes, many of the children were dressed for this period of time. I happened to catch the above photo of this little girl gazing after two of the costumed ladies with their parasols to shield themselves from the hot sunshine.
In this photo, we see the Colonial Governor arriving at the Capitol, where he will make an announcement to dissolve the House of Burgess, a legislative body of propertied Williamsburg gentlemen, because of their support of Boston rebels, who dropped a tea shipment into Boston Harbor. This action stirs thoughts of independence from Britain among the Williamsburg colonists.
Williamsburg is celebrating its 225th anniversary. In this photo, we see members of the House of Burgess departing the Capitol after the Governor's announcement. A debate among the colonists follows and, if you look up to the balcony, you can see the Governor still standing on it, viewing the reactions of the crowd to his pronouncement. Can you hear the boos?
Finally, here is a photo of a young patriot standing in the crowd as the debate over independence rages in the background. Is he the cutest thing or what? Today's series of debates were called "Collapse of Royal Government, 1774-1776." These debates took place at various venues in the Williamsburg streets from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This was all such fun. You get caught up in the debates as both sides argue their cases for loyalty to the crown or independence. These are difficult choices for the people of Williamsburg to decide. I wonder where we would be if different decisions had been made. We just love this stuff.