Historic Triangle

Virginia certainly has a rich history. By visiting the Historic Triangle, we were able to retrace the British presence in North America from their first successful colony in Jamestown (1607), through the colonial period and revolution in Williamsburg and their surrender to George Washington in Yorktown in 1782. Each of these places has a different character and focus. The Jamestown area is a very active archeological site. For many, many years the opinion was that most of Jamestown had gone into the river and was lost. Then someone did some good research and independent thinking, using the known location of the church to figure out the location of the rest of the fort. The actual site of Jamestown was just determined in 1994 when they found where the logs making up the walls of the fort had been dug into the ground. They have just recently found other buildings and many graves. One woman's skull shows clear signs of having been carved and butchered during the "Starving Time" of 1609-10. Garbage heaps have been unearthed giving much information about those difficult days in the new land. They have a very impressive Archeology Museum and at least 4 active digs going on around the fort. We listened to an excellent ranger presentation about the new discoveries and learning that is going on. We walked around the fort, toured the museum, and walked the New Town area where townspeople built their homes and business eventually. They also have a glass works on the site of the original, one of their early money making ideas. Jamestown was a bustling town once they got through the rough early years and was the first capital of Virginia. It eventually moved to Williamsburg and then Richmond.

New Town

Jamestown glassworks

First housing

Williamsburg has been preserved for many years, many blocks of the old town are right out of the 1700's. This enormous undertaking was begun in 1926, financed mostly by John D. and Abby Rockefeller. They quietly bought up the land and made their plans to preserve and rebuild the town. Of the nearly 500 buildings on the grounds 88 are original. The rest have been built in the period style. The Governor's Palace and the Capitol were reconstructed from the original plans. Every building not only looks totally authentic but they have been built authentically using the tools and methods from the 16-1700's. There is a combination of homes and museums, intermixed. The homes are used by employees of CW with many regulations: no electrical or modern devices can be visible or heard through windows, all decor must fit in with the museum buildings. The tourist trinket shops follow the same rules. The museum buildings are staffed with knowledgable and passionate people who visit with you and share their expertise for the trade or business they are in. For the most part they stay in character, using the vocabulary and language of the times. Some of the most interesting conversations happened when they stepped out of character. There were very few tourists so we were able to learn about each trade and activity by engaging the staff, they are really fantastic in their authentic clothing and using all traditional tools and skills. On each day a historical personage came to the stage to give a speech and answer questions. We heard George Washington and Thomas Jefferson chat away about their beliefs, background and activities. These guys did not break out of character! I loved it when Jefferson lambasted a fellow who obviously had an issue with the Koran and Muslims. 

George Washington

Shoemaker

Dressmaking

Thomas Jefferson

Seamstresses

Shoemaker

Weaver and cat

Cocoa at the Coffeehouse

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We were there for 3 cold, rainy days and were able to visit almost every museum and store. Thayer was disappointed by some of the changes he noticed from the last time he visited, 40+ years ago. It doesn't seem like a lot to ask to have a working bakery, cranking out hot cookies and goodies on a cold rainy day. But no-oooo, plastic wrapped cookies and coolers full of bottled drinks were offered in the bakery. The town was dressed up in it's Christmas finery and the Great Illumination was on, unfortunately even the festive lights could hardly penetrate the rain and early darkness. We passed on the fireworks display. Despite the gloomy weather I enjoyed Williamsburg immensely and would recommend it highly to anyone visiting Virginia.

Smithy

Governor's kitchen

Silversmith

The last point of the Historic Triangle is Yorktown, a National Historic Site. It has a small visitor center and is mostly forests and a battlefield with lots of earthenworks where two wars were fought. It is the site of the surrender of the British to the Americans. One fact I found interesting was that Cornwallis did not surrender his sword to Washington, he was such a sore loser. He assigned the duty to his second-in-command. When Washington found out who was presenting the sword he sent his own second-in-command to receive it. Ah, gamesmanship! We got there late in the day and I didn't get any photos...

Grandparent's home, Hampton

It was another trip down memory lane for Thayer when we visited the old home that his grandfather built 50 years ago in Hampton, VA. The nice young couple who lives there now was gracious enough to show us the inside. Thayer was disappointed to see the bright paint covering the wood panelling he loved. It is a sturdy house, well situated on the shore of the James River. With 3 children the family doesn't have much time (or maybe the inclination) for yardwork and the grounds are a bit unkept but you could imagine it's former glory.

We also visited nearby Fort Monroe, another National Historic Site, situated at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, protecting it from invaders of several wars. Something new here is that the parks are renting out townhomes and apartments fashioned from the beautiful old housing of the fort.

Creative housing at Ft. Monroe

Casemate Museum

We had a nice stay with new boondocker friends, Pete and Phyllis, in Virginia Beach and they have given us a good contact for our Florida Keys expedition. Love the Boondockers!