Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg

Text by Michael Olmert

Softcover, illustrated.

Containing…. Easy-to-follow maps of the Historic Area….Complete descriptions of the buildings on exhibition..information on shopping, lodging, and dining.

IN 1926, inspired by the fore­sight and enthusiasm of the Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin, then rector of Bruton Parish Church, Mr. John D. RockefelIer, Jr., ­became interested in the preservation and restoration of eighteenth-century Williamsburg, and thereafter devoted his personal attention and resources to the fulfillment of this goal.
The purpose of Colonial Williams­burg is to preserve the historie settings and to effect an understanding of the lives and times of the people of eigh­teenth-century Williamsburg so that present and future generations may understand, appreciate, and learn from their contributions to the ideals, ideas, and culture of our country.
Today the History Area of Colonial Williamsburg embraces about 175 acres, the heart of the old city. Eighty-­eight original eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century structures still stand. Several main buildings and many outbuildings that did not survive the years have been reconstructed on their original foundations after extensive archaeological investigation and historical research. Ninety acres of colorful gardens and greens have been re-created using many plants known to the eighteenth-century colonists.