GUIDE BOOK
TO
Williamsburg
OLD and NEW
DUKE OF GLOUCESTER STREET
Copyrighted, 1943, by William C. Ewing
Illustrations on cover and page 17 are used by courtesy of
Colonial Williamsburg, Inc.
The Dietz Printing Company
Richmond, Virginia
Greetings to the Visitor
We hope you will enjoy your stay in Williamsburg. Thisis the only historically important town in America which haschanged so little in two hundred years.
We who live in Williamsburg love it. We hope you willstay long enough to get sentimental over it, too.
To help you get the most out of your visit we offer thefollowing suggestions:
1. Williamsburg is not a museum. It is a living community.
2. The chief value of Williamsburg is its atmosphere.But for our having a few automobiles and new-fangledclothes, there has been mighty little change in this atmospheresince Thomas Jefferson and George Washington helpedto make it what it is.
3. If you come from New York or Chicago don’t thinkof going inside any ancient building until you have spent atleast one day in getting calmed down to our tempo andlearning to wander about instead of hustling. Get into thespirit of the place.
4. Then, when you begin to feel at home and wish tosee some interiors, take it easy. Go to the Church one day,the Palace another day, and so on. Imagine rushing throughthe Governor’s Garden!
WILLIAMSBURG AND VICINITY
Old Williamsburg
MIDDLE PLANTATION.
After the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 the populationof the Virginia Colony gradually spread out from thatcenter until, in 1633, it became desirable to develop farms inthe territory between the James and York Rivers, which hasever since been called the Virginia Peninsula. From itsposition in relation to the rivers, this settlement was namedMiddle Plantation.
The privilege of dwelling in this district was granted bythe colonial legislature on condition that a Palisade beerected to keep out the Indians. This palisade extended fromQueen’s Creek, which empties into the York River, toArcher’s Hope Creek (now called College Creek), which isa tributary of the James. This palisade was kept in repairuntil 1710.
At present, only two buildings remain which were herein the 17th century: the Galt House on Francis Street andthe main building of the College.
THE COLLEGE.
The first attempt to found a college in America had itsinception at Jamestown in 1617. Land was secured near thepresent site of Richmond and considerable endowment wasinvested in farm stock. Before operation of the college couldbegin, the whole undertaking was wiped out by the greatIndi