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Please contact Penna Rogers at (757) 220-7121 or progers@cwf.org for high resolution or alternate image formats.
2009 marks the 30th anniversary of Colonial Williamsburg’s African American programs. The lives of free and enslaved African Americans are detailed in several programs offered at two distinctive venues – Great Hopes Plantation and Peyton Randolph House. Great Hopes Plantation depicts rural life and the Peyton Randolph House features life on an urban plantation.
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In November of 1775, Virginia's royal governor, John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore, issued a proclamation in response to information that the colonists had begun forming armies and attacking British troops. Dunmore wanted to put a quick end to the fighting and other activities he considered traitorous. Known as "Dunmore's Proclamation," the governor's announcement created a fervor among the populace and may have actually helped secure the alignment of many moderate or undecided white Virginians against the British government. The proclamation declared Virginia in a state of rebellion and placed the colony under martial law. But the most offensive portion of the document was the section that offered freedom to slaves and bonded servants of patriot sympathizers and forces if they were willing to bear arms and fight for the British.
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Colonial Williamsburg’s Brothers-in-Arms: Freedom, Slavery and the American Revolution program recognizes the challenges, triumphs and contributions of free and enslaved African Americans as soldiers and camp followers of the American Revolution. Programs highlight the contributions, sacrifices and decisions of 18th-century African Americans in securing their liberty, either with the British or American cause.
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During the program “Workin’ the Soil, Healin’ the Soul” at Great Hopes Plantation, guests follow an interpreter through the reconstructed 18th-century rural kitchen, slave quarters and agricultural and livestock fields for a look at day-to-day living for rural enslaved families. Young guests have the opportunity to participate in daily chores.
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Great Hopes Plantation is an activity-based interpretive site that invites guests to witness a way of life that was found in 18th-century Virginia. Here guests watch the re-creation and evolution of an 18th-century plantation, learn about enslaved African-Virginians and their masters, and learn how they lived and worked on a typical middle-sized rural Virginia farm.
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Colonial Williamsburg’s acclaimed outdoor drama, Revolutionary City®, is now family-friendlier. “Get Revved! Revolutionary City For Young Patriots” is a way for children and their parents to experience the exciting daily performances in the Historic Area by providing opportunities for youngsters to interact directly with various Revolutionary City characters in a more informal, intimate setting.
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Gen. George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette address the citizens of Williamsburg as the Continental Army prepares for the siege of Yorktown, the final battle of the American Revolution.
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The Revolutionary City” programs will create a spontaneous, “real time” feel to Williamsburg during the years of the American Revolution and the War for Independence. Guests will meet America’s Nation Builders as well as lesser known residents of the 18th-century capital. With a more diverse cast of character interpreters, Colonial Williamsburg can show more accurately and convincingly that it took men and women of different classes, races and talents to build this nation. The cast includes Gowan Pamphlet, a slave and founder of an independent black Baptist church in Williamsburg, portrayed by James Ingram; Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Bill Barker; Lydia Broadnax, a slave cook for George Wythe, portrayed by Valarie Holmes; and Patrick Henry, portrayed by Richard Schumann.
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Guests have the opportunity to participate in a re-enactment of an 18th-century trial during “Order in the Court.”
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Young guests visiting Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area can learn how to play games their 18th-century counterparts did. One game, hoops and sticks, requires rolling a hoop across the grass with a stick.
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The CD, “From Ear to Ear: The Passage of African Music Through American Slavery,” re-creates the lost and forgotten music performed by Africans in the 18th century and follows the music’s transformation as the people moved in forced bondage from Africa through the Middle Passage to the Caribbean and finally to America. After restoring some of the 18th-century African instruments and persevering through hours of practice, the performers created music reflective of the original sounds that changed across three diverse geographical areas and from one generation to another. The sound on the CD reflects the music as it might have sounded when performed by people working in the fields and going about daily activities, releasing the joy and sorrow in their souls through song and rhythmic sounds.
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During the evening program, “Papa Said, Mama Said,” storytellers exchange African American tales.
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Governor’s Musick, Colonial Williamsburg’s resident early music ensemble, performs several chamber music concerts during the year in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.
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Colonial Williamsburg’s Electronic Field Trip “Freedom Bound” premieres Feb. 19, 2009, and examines the powerful quest for freedom from the harsh realities of slavery in compelling stories that span three centuries.
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Scheduled for broadcast Jan. 15, 2009, “In Pursuit of Science” allows participants in Colonial Williamsburg’s Electronic Field Trip to experience the exciting world of early American science through the eyes of a young boy. Wealthy planter John Page demonstrates a telescope and an orrery to a young lad.
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On May 15, 1776, from the Capitol of what was England’s first permanent colony in the New World, Virginia legislators instructed their delegation at Philadelphia’s Continental Congress to introduce a resolution to make the colonies independent from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was the response by the Continental Congress. The gentlemen at Williamsburg sat in the oldest representative assembly in what was then the world’s newest nation. The assembly traces its beginnings to 1619 when the House of Burgesses first convened at Jamestown. Colonial Williamsburg’s Capitol is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2009. The new Capitol was dedicated with a ceremonial meeting of the General Assembly of Virginia on Feb. 24, 1934.
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Colonial Williamsburg’s evening programs often are held at the Capitol. Guests can witness the trial of “the Virginia witch.” At the end of the program, they can vote on Grace Sherwood’s guilt or innocence during “Cry Witch.” In other courtroom re-enactment, John Vidal and Martha Farley go on trial for piracy. Several concerts are held here, including “Capitol Concert,” “Dance, Our Dearest Diversion” and “Upon a Violl at Sea”: A 1607 Concert.”
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Standing as evidence of the position vice royalty enjoyed in the capital of England’s largest American colony, the Governor’s Palace was the third largest public building in Williamsburg. The Governor’s Palace opened as a Historic Area exhibition site in April 23, 1934. The 75th anniversary of the reopening of the Governor’s Palace is celebrated in 2009.
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The Palace Supper Room was updated in 2006 to include a rich green wallpaper with gilt border and a large Brussels carpet. The wallpaper is documented as being purchased for the Supper Room by Lord Botetourt but awaiting installation at the time of his death. The reproduction wallpaper, now installed to represent the time of Botetourt’s successor, Lord Dunmore, was applied in the traditional manner by gluing folio sheets of hand-laid paper directly to the plaster, quickly covering with verdigris distemper paint, and applying decorative gilt fretwork for trim. The reproduction wool looped-pile carpet was copied from one illustrated in a period painting.
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The Governor’s Palace North Garden features a sea of red tulips.
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Palace Green is the site of military encampments as the British seize the capital city and subject the citizens of 1781 to martial law. “Under The Redcoat,” an annual weekend-long program, re-creates the occupation of the city by British Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis near the end of the American Revolution. During this re-enactment, the British are here to remind Williamsburg’s residents to remain loyal British subjects.
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The Governor’s Palace hosts “An Evening of Dance at the Palace.” Colonial Williamsburg’s interpreters demonstrate 18th-century dance steps.
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In 2007, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, visited the Historic Triangle to celebrate Jamestown’s 400th Anniversary. During her stay, the queen attended a reception at the Governor’s Palace and was escorted by Colonial Williamsburg President Colin G. Campbell.
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The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is reconstructing Richard Charlton’s Coffeehouse on its original foundations to recreate the 1765 hotbed of political, business and social activity adjacent to the colonial Capitol. The project is the Foundation’s first complete reconstruction in 50 years. It is made possible by a generous $5 million gift from Mr. and Mrs. Forrest E. Mars Jr. of Big Horn, Wyo.
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Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Trades mason trades have contributed more than 8,000 specifically sized bricks to the reconstruction of Charlton’s Coffeehouse. Many of these bricks were molded by Colonial Williamsburg’s guests during the summer of 2008.
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With the beating drums, trilling fifes and colorful uniforms, members of Colonial Williamsburg’s Fifes and Drums are musical ambassadors for the restored 18th-century town. Founded in 1958, the Foundation’s musical ambassadors celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008.
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Colonial Williamsburg debuts season four of the highly acclaimed outdoor dramatic presentation, Revolutionary City®, in 2009 with new scenes, stories and events in the Historic Area. The Fifes and Drums will be one of the highlights of the program.
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Designed by landscape architect Arthur A. Shurcliff, the Taliaferro-Cole Garden contains horticulture interest in every season. A colorful array of spring bulbs, summer perennials, flowering trees and shrubs make this garden one of the most delightful in Williamsburg.
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The Powell House Garden illustrates the axial arrangement of garden spaces typical of colonial site development.
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Colonial Williamsburg operates a Rare Breeds program to preserve genetic diversity in livestock. American Cream Draft horses are the only breed of draft horse originating from the United States. The only modern breed in the program also is the rarest—less than 400 exist in North America.
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Colonial Williamsburg uses its Rare Breeds program to interpret 18th-century life. Here guests watch a milking demonstration.
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For more than 50 years, guests of Colonial Williamsburg have enjoyed touring Duke of Gloucester Street in the manner and fashion of the 18th century, as passengers on one of the Foundation’s horse-drawn coaches. More than 50,000 guests embark on the 15- or 30-minute journey through Colonial Williamsburg annually. Of the 10 carriages owned by the Foundation, seven carriages are reserved for the use of guests and visiting dignitaries. The Royal Governor’s Coach is the newest addition to the group. Unique among the Foundation’s carriages, this luxurious enclosed town coach would have been a mark of wealth and prestige in colonial America.
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Young museum visitors can participate in a hands-on experience when they visit a new exhibition in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in its new, expanded home. Staged in the Penelope and Dr. Sergio Proserpi Gallery, “Down on the Farm” relates the fictitious tale of Prince, a carved wooden sculpture of a terrier, as he travels from the big city to the country. Throughout the gallery, guests follow the canine’s adventures with pigs, cows and roosters as he wanders from farm to farm looking for his cousin. Delving into the rich folk art collections of Colonial Williamsburg, the story is told using paintings and drawings of rural America as well as three-dimensional art-like copper weathervanes, wooden sculptures and decoys that represent the denizens of the farms.
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“Asa Ames: Occupation Sculpturing” is the first exhibition devoted to the three-dimensional portraits carved by the elusive artist between 1847 and his death in 1851. This carving may portray Asa Ames’s older brother John Trowbridge Ames, who led an adventurous and successful life. In his early 20s, he tried his hand as a sailor, becoming a captain on Lake Erie. He left Evans by the 1840s, teaching school in Missouri and Wisconsin before heading to California in a covered wagon with his new wife, hoping to strike gold. By 1854, John Ames bundled his wife, his children, and Asa’s widow, Emma, into the wagon once again, and the family established one of the largest homesteads in the pioneer town of Traer, Iowa, where they became major livestock breeders. His property became known as the Larches, for the 70 wooded acres he planted.
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“Pottery with a Past: Stoneware in Early America” opens in May 2009. These two jugs, dated “1724,” were produced in the Westerwald region of Germany specifically for the English and English colonial market. They each feature central medallions which incorporate the initials “GR” for George Rex (the Latin designation for king). Jugs of this type were imported in large quantities to the American colonies during the 18th century and fragments of them are frequently found at archaeological sites along the eastern seaboard.
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The color of the Second Continental Light Dragoons, also known as Sheldon’s Horse, was captured July 2, 1779, by Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton at Pound Ridge, N.Y. It is the earliest known surviving – and the only known Revolutionary era -- American flag of any kind with a field of 13 red and white stripes. The silk standard with a field of 13 red and white stripes is centered by a painted badge of a winged and fulminating thundercloud with a ribbon-enclosed motto. The flag is bordered on three sides with a wide silver metallic fringe.
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Fresh or faux? Friends and neighbors are sure to ask . . . and want to know where you purchased it. Intertwined with silken morning glories, wildflowers and petite Queen Anne’s lace, this lushly foliated wreath captures the essence of spring in Williamsburg.
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Lady Charlotte’s Lily is reproduced from a pair of porcelain plates, circa 1755, made at the Bow Factory in London and now in the Colonial Williamsburg collections. WILLIAMSBURG by Mottahedeh.
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From basic place settings to tea at the beach, this exciting DVD is your resource for hosting a spring soiree. Cindy Cragg, home stylist and a Williamsburg native, shares easy ideas for making your occasion unforgettable. Cindy has charmed home enthusiasts nationwide with her formula for decorating success—keep it simple, keep it fresh, keep it fun. Find out how her twists on 18th-century style make a sensation for today's springtime entertaining.
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The Williamsburg Inn, the landmark property conceived and built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and opened in April 1937, remains today the crown jewel of Colonial Williamsburg’s Resort Collection of hotels. Guided by the Inn’s rich history and strong sense of place, and led by an accomplished team of architects, craftsmen and artisans faithful to Mr. Rockefeller’s original vision, the Inn’s meticulous renovation in 2001 brought refreshed vibrancy and elegance to the comfortable Virginia country estate for discriminating guests.
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One of the elegant private function spaces at the Williamsburg Inn, the Goodwin Room is named for Colonial Williamsburg’s founding father, Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin. A small garden separates it from the Regency Room dining room. Draperies of Scalamandré Silks crown the room set with Yale Burge dining chairs and a sideboard from Baker Furniture Company. The Couristan floor covering was handsomely reproduced in the19th-century Regency style.
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Providence Hall was built near the Chickahominy River in Virginia’s New Kent County shortly before 1770. The history of Providence Hall is one of continual change. It was first built as an auxiliary dwelling for a colonial mill and forge site. In the next century, the house became the domestic center of a large farming operation. Today, Providence Hall sits in a secluded location near a pond just outside Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area on the grounds near the Williamsburg Inn overlooking the Golden Horseshoe Golf Course. Providence Hall includes three very large bedrooms with canopy beds, private baths and sitting rooms, a library, a board room, a parlor and garden room on the main level, fireplaces, and a prep kitchen where the Inn staff can prepare meals on site for guests attending a function in Providence Hall. An adjoining carriage house offers a bedroom and bath upstairs and a bedroom, bath and sitting room overlooking the terrace on the main level. Providence Hall and its adjoining carriage house may be reserved for overnight stays, small weddings, private accommodations for the wedding party or family and is a beautiful location for weddings or gatherings all year round.
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This second floor guest room in the Carriage House at Providence Hall includes a full bath and a queen bed. The bed hangings and window curtains are made of cotton and linen by Old World Weavers in the “Sandringham” pattern. Furnishings are period correct pieces, and most are made by Kittinger. Many are reproductions of original pieces in Colonial Williamsburg’s collections.
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The sunny garden room in Providence Hall overlooks a brick garden patio and the Golden Horseshoe Golf Course beyond.
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Throughout the Williamsburg Lodge lobby area are intimate conversation areas with accessories inspired by Colonial Williamsburg’s folk art collection and comfortable American classic furnishings. The original blue stone floors and cypress paneling have been restored to add elements of the original 1939 Lodge to the newly reopened facility.
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The seal of Virginia was commissioned in 1957 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the landing at Jamestown. It previously hung in Commonwealth Hall in the Motor Lodge, also built in 1957, and now hangs in the 11,200-square-foot Virginia Room of the Williamsburg Lodge conference center, which overlooks the Colonial Parkway and the Virginia Lawn.
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Opened in 1939 to provide comfortable accommodations for travelers to the historic town, the Williamsburg Lodge is one of the original Colonial Williamsburg hotels, constructed under the guidance of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the founder and original benefactor of the town’s restoration.
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Pictured here is one of the original guest rooms fully renovated to provide contemporary comfort with the simplicity and charm of the 1939 Lodge. The custom-made, folk art-inspired furnishings create a warm, inviting, genteel flavor of a Southern home. The rocker in the foreground is made by Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers of Auburn, Maine. The bed coverlet is inspired by a 19th-century woven coverlet.
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Targeting the over-taxed body, the Spa’s Wi-Fi Massage relieves tension in the hands, neck, arms and shoulders. Ice-cold lavender eye pillows at the conclusion of the massage soothe weary eyes.
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Natural light brings the outdoors inside the spa, as do the brick floor, handcrafted metal light fixtures and furnishings inspired by garden furniture seen in photographs of historic gardens throughout Virginia displayed throughout the spa. Products from the spa’s signature collection are scented with lavender and lemongrass.
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The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg includes a full-service hair, nail and makeup salon in a conservatory setting. Full of abundant natural light and reflecting the gardens it overlooks, the Spa salon is the perfect spot for bridal party members preparing for a wedding, or for anyone who wants to treat herself to professional services in beautiful surroundings.
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The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg is located in the renovated Georgian Revival building that formerly housed the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. Guests walk through a formal garden and past a reflecting pond to the wisteria-covered brick walkway that leads to the Spa.
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This hump-backed #12 green on the Gold Course sits some 40 feet below the tee on the far bank of the lake. Behind rests an imposing hillside covered with mature pine and oak. The player faces a solitary bunker on the back right of the green.
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The nine-hole Spotswood is a par-31 course with 9 holes and 18 sets of tees, offering a different challenge to those who want to play it as an 18-hole course. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and measures 1,865 yards with one 480-yard par 5, par 4s of 285 and 305 yards and six par-3 holes that vary from 90 to 215 yards. The par-3 second hole requires a tee shot over a pond.
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From 5 to 8 p.m., Chowning’s caters to families with the music, magic and colonial games of gambols while serving light fare. Beginning at 8 p.m., gambols takes on the rollicking atmosphere of an 18th-century ale house featuring beverages such as stout rum drinks, a variety of hearty ales and wine by the glass. The same light fare is offered along with baskets of fresh-roasted Virginia peanuts on every table.
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Shields Tavern offers recipes representative of the 18th-century food similar to that served by proprietor James Shields in the 1740s for the lesser gentry and upper middling ranks of locals and travelers. Old favorites such as Bubble and Squeak and Welsh Rarebit -- as well as more modern comfort food with a ‘Revolutionary’ Southern flair – asr served daily from 11:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. No reservations are required.
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* Please contact Penna Rogers
for high resolution images.
(757) 220-7121
progers@cwf.org
Photo credit: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Va.
These images may be used for editorial and educational purposes
only.
All commercial and advertising uses are strictly forbidden
without the written consent of
the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
© 2008 by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
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