Colonial Williamsburg is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state of Virginia, attracting over four million people every year. Visiting the town is rather like stepping back in time and it offers a chance to see what life was like in America three hundred years ago, when Williamsburg was one of the first towns built in the land that one day would become the United States.
In 1699 the British colonists built a small town about six miles inland in an area of land that is now the state of Virginia. They named their new home Middle Plantation, later changing the name to Williamsburg after the British monarch, William of Orange. The new town was thoughtfully laid out and planned and despite being attacked occasionally by local Indian tribes, soon became the wealthy centre of the surrounding area. In 1780, a few years after the United States had declared its independence from Britain, the nearby city of Richmond became Virginia’s capital and the importance of Williamsburg was forgotten.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Williamsburg was a rather sleepy town, where nothing much happened. In 1926, the industrialist and millionaire John D. Rockefeller helped to raise money to restore the town, ensuring that future generations of people could enjoy it. Today, Williamsburg is administered by the Colonial Williamsburg foundation, a non-profit and educational foundation and is one of the largest restored historic districts anywhere in the world. The entire town covers over 300 acres, has almost 100 original buildings and attracts visitors from all over the United States and the world.
Visiting Williamsburg, it’s easy to imagine that you are back in the 18th century. All the buildings date from that period, or have been carefully reproduced. Workers, such as silversmiths, blacksmiths and bakers, work just as people did 300 years ago, using the tools and techniques of the time. The British flag flies from many of the town’s buildings and many of the people who work there talk with a British accent – which can be a little bit difficult for some visitors to understand! Instead of the usual souvenirs, you can buy plenty of reminders of your visit, including handmade linens and baked goods.
Even the food is authentic. Colonial Williamsburg has several inns or taverns, which are not only comfortable places to stay, but offer the chance to enjoy a delicious meal. If you were one of the early colonists living in Williamsburg during the 18th century, you might have eaten such tasty food as peanut soup, chicken with cornbread stuffing and game pie with rabbit, duck and venison. Today, you can sample all these traditional dishes at one of the town’s several taverns, in surroundings that haven’t changed much in 300 years.
If you visit Williamsburg, there are two different ways to experience the town. It costs nothing to walk the streets of the historic district, where you can catch glimpses of colonial life. You might see women working in the vegetable garden, the governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry debating politics with a group of tourists, or a platoon of soldiers marching down the street. However, to fully appreciate Colonial Williamsburg, buy a ticket which allows you admission all day to all the buildings and exhibits. There are guides wearing authentic costume in many of the buildings who can answer questions. The highlights of any visit are the Governor’s Palace, the Capitol Building and the courthouse.
Williamsburg is located in a historic area of Virginia, known as the Historic Triangle, so-called because two other important places are nearby – Jamestown and Yorktown. Jamestown is where the English first settled in the New World, in 1607; and Yorktown is the site of a British defeat, which helped to end the American Revolutionary War. If all this history is a little bit too much for you, this part of Virginia also has outlet malls and theme parks.
Williamsburg is a wonderful place to visit any time of year, although summers can be extremely hot, with temperatures frequently in the 90s. If you visit in autumn, you can enjoy the spectacular colors of the trees; and in Christmas, when the town’s buildings all try to outdo each other with decorations; it truly is a magical place.
Listen to the article
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Visit these websites to find out more about Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg official site:
http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/
The official history website:
Key vocabulary
Step back in time
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you step back in time it is like you are going back to a previous time in history.
Colonist
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A colony is a place in a county where a group of people from another country go to live. The people are called colonist.
Monarch
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The king or a queen is the monach.
Laid out
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
How an area is planned and designed is how it it laid out.
Declared its independence
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Declare means to say or state something. Independence means that you are no longer part of a larger group. So to declare independence means to state that you are no longer part of a larger group. Example USA declared independence from Great Britain on July 4th 1776.
To restore
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Bring something back to its original condition.
Ensuring
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Making sure.
Foundation
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A not for profit organisation set up to provided financial support for a project or projects. For example the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Acres
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
An acre is a measure of land used in the USA and the UK. 1 acre = 4047 square meters or 0.4 hectares.
Date from that period
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
As old as this period in time
Silversmiths (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Craftmen skilled in working silver.
Blacksmiths (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Craftmen skilled in working iron.
Techniques (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Methods of doing something.
Linens (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Linen is a fabric made from the flax plant. Linens are the things typically made from linen, such as table cloths, bed sheets and drying up cloths.
Inns or taverns (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Old words for pub.
Game pie
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A pie made with game (wild meat) such as rabbit or wild birds.
Venison
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Deer meat
Catch a glimpse
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A glimpse is a short sighting. If you catch a glimpse you see somthing for a very short period of time.
Governor
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The person who is in charge of a state or colony is often called the governor.
Debating
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
To debate is another word for discuss or argue.
Appreciate
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Really understand and enjoy something.
Costume
Special clothing
Courthouse
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The house where it is decided if a criminal is guitly of a crime.
Outlet malls (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A group of shops usually outside a city where you can buy brand name goods cheaper than normal.
Theme parks (pl.)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Disneyland and Sea World are examples of theme parks.
In the 90s
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(90°F to 100 °F = 32°C to 38°C)
Photograph by Fletcher
