"Stepping Back in Time" a Williamsburg Travel Page by steph4867

Step back in time to experience the ideas and dreams of both great and everyday people on the eve of the American Revolution. The process of defining our country's values and beliefs started in Williamsburg more than 200 years ago, and it continues to this day.

In the 173 acres and more than 500 restored and reconstructed buildings of Colonial Williamsburg, you'll discover hundreds of people representing actual citizens from 18th century Williamsburg. You'll find them greeting guests at their taverns, stoking the fire outside a tenant house or judging the accused in the courts. You'll hear them discussing British taxes, religious freedom and the alarming notion of separating - forever - from the mother country.

From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the capital of the colony of Virginia. Here, Thomas Jefferson studied law, and later he, George Washington, Patrick Henry, and other patriot leaders plotted America's freedom from Great Britain. When the capital of Virginia was moved to Richmond in 1780, Williamsburg began to deteriorate.

In 1926, Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin approached John D. Rockefeller, Jr., with a dream of restoring Williamsburg. Clustered around the one-mile stretch of Duke of Gloucester Street, the town that you will see here now is little changed from the one that our founding fathers knew. Homes and trade sites have been restored or rebuilt as accurately as possible, using existing foundations and period-appropriate materials. Even the animals are true to the 18th century, as they're based on breeds that were common then.

Music from a tavern balladeer, delicious aromas emanating from a kitchen hearth, the taste of fresh bread from the bakery - what you'll see during your visit is just the beginning of a full sensory trip to the past.

Colonial Williamsburg is a living, working city. Skilled craftsmen create items like saddles, garments and cartwheels for the use of other Colonial Williamsburg tradespeople and citizens; people actually live in the homes you'll pass by, and real commerce takes place within the town's many shops and taverns. Not just during a few hours each day for a limited season, but day and night, all year round.