Any one ever visit Williamsburg??

[deziloooooo]

I was stationed at Ft Eustis down the road from the place for a short while, spent a lot of time there, loved it , especially the popovers at the Inn..and a glass of cheer, and came across this Political piece and was surprised to see a paragraph on a happening there i had no knowledge of.

Any one ever visit the place..? If ever in the area, I strongly recommend it, fascinating place . I believe the Rockefeller Foundation is the one who got this place going as it is today, nice example of philanthropy in action, in this they did good.IMHO
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Colonial in: The complicated history of Colonial Williamsburg

"It’s a gorgeous morning in Colonial Williamsburg, and I am cheering for America’s most notorious traitor. It’s not just me, it’s everyone — 250 people, families, people in wheelchairs, people in strollers, people with dogs, children with tricorne hats and wooden guns. We’re standing bunched together in something of a mob at the end of Duke of Gloucester Street, right outside the colonial Capitol, and for a moment we are all clapping and whistling and yelling “huzzah.” We are psyched.

Robert Weathers has been working up the crowd. He’s yelling at the top of his voice news about the glorious American victory in the Battle of Saratoga (huzzah!) thanks to our brave troops (huzzah!) and their talented major general, Benedict Arnold (huzz ... uh). Laughter flickers through the crowd, and I hear a dad tell a child, good-naturedly, to stop cheering. A few of us keep going. I’m not sure if the others are being funny or perverse or don’t recognize the name, but I am cheering for what just happened. Every one of us had to take a second to think about the complexity of war, and the fickleness of heroism.

Meanwhile, removed from the crowd, I notice a person in period costume who is not cheering. He looks subdued, doubtful, conflicted. He is black. The speaker is talking about the necessity of fighting for one’s freedom.

That’s right, I’m in Colonial Williamsburg, and it’s making me think. Revolutionary.

Since the 1930s, when the project opened to the public, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has employed tour guides in 18th-century costumes. They were originally all female and called “hostesses”; the most important requirement, according to the project’s founder, the Rev. W.A.R. Goodwin, was that they be Southern.

By 1940, the foundation was employing African Americans to represent slaves. “Archaically clad slaveys,” as a Washington Post travel article called them, dressed the part but did not pretend to be colonial-era persons. Through the ’50s, the costumed employees lived in segregated dorms, and black visitors had only one designated day a week to tour the historic area. In the ’60s, critics began to complain about Williamsburg’s emphasis on rich white men, noting as late as 1976 the “almost total absence of any reference to slavery,” in one visitor’s words. Historian Anders Greenspan refers to this period as Williamsburg’s transition from monument to educational institution. In 1979, Colonial Williamsburg hired three black interpreters, including Rex Ellis, who went on to develop the African American studies program at Colonial Williamsburg and today is director of curatorial affairs at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Ellis told the Daily Press in 2009 that, at first, his family thought that pretending to be a slave was the worst thing he could do, given his education and opportunities.

As our culture learns more and thinks differently about the past, Williamsburg has grown with us, struggling, as it must, to follow both historical accuracy and financial viability. Bill Weldon, the foundation’s manager of public history development, says the mission is “that people be provoked to think about citizenship.” Since 2006, that enterprise has taken a turn for the theatrical, with 40 actor-interpreters representing real historical people from the town, with names and identifying details discovered the same way any historian discovers them. The characters participate in scripted scenes, extended monologues and extemporaneous conversation with visitors. This street-theater reimagining of Williamsburg is called Revolutionary City"
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"By 1940, the foundation was employing African Americans to represent slaves. “Archaically clad slaveys,” as a Washington Post travel article called them, dressed the part but did not pretend to be colonial-era persons. Through the ’50s, the costumed employees lived in segregated dorms, and black visitors had only one designated day a week to tour the historic area.


What I found out, never knew, surprising to me, one forgets, it wasn't that long ago.

We were a different country in regards to this matter..about time we got it right in my mind..IMHO.

Thinking some participants here, it was really before your life time, a periiod of ancient history to you, but have to tell you, very recent history, the way things were..like yesterday for some of us.

[mmhmm]

Yes, Dezi, I've been there. Our family went together in the mid-80s and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were all history buffs, so it was especially interesting and rewarding for us.

[reasonfreedom]

Which state? I know about 15 different Williamsburgs.

[deziloooooo]

Jun 12, 2011 13:37:25 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Yes, Dezi, I've been there. Our family went together in the mid-80s and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were all history buffs, so it was especially interesting and rewarding for us.

Did you try the Inn, can't remember the name of it for the life of me for lunch..greatest popovers I ever had..so light..LOL, my treat to myself..

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I've visited and immensely enjoyed Colonial Williamsburg, and I'd like to go again someday.

[mmhmm]

You mean The Williamsburg Inn, I take it, Dezi? Yes, we did. We had lunch there. I don't remember what we had but do recall we enjoyed it. Nobody had a complaint and my family would have griped loudly if the food wasn't good!

[hello fromWarsaw]

1964 Grrreat! Benedict was a wonderful and incredibly brave general. Unfortunately the 1778 equivalent of Pubs never paid him!!

[handyman2]

Yep great place. I love the old places. If you eat at the INN go for the Chicken and dumplings. Great
You might want to check out the old naval musium not far away. Busch gardens is down the road but Williamsburg is better.

[mmhmm]

The naval museum was very interesting, as well, handyman. My father was in the Navy during WWII, so that was one of our stops and a real treat for him.

[hello fromWarsaw]

I wonder what naval museum that is. I highly recommend the Mariners Museum in Newport News (?)

[Deleted]

I actually wasn't very impressed by Williamsburg? ... maybe because i still have kids, (and it was like 100 degrees...) ... I liked Sturbridge Village in Mass better... but we went to Monticello on the way to Williamsburg (or out of the way...) and that place is awesome...

[mmhmm]

I, too, found Monticello fascinating, oped. Beautiful grounds and a very interesting history lesson.

[Deleted]

Just so you know though, if you do want to go... in the fall and i think in the spring too, Williamsburg has homeschool days. You can get tickets much cheaper during these weeks... you do have to buy them in advance, but i didn't have to prove i homeschooled or anything, so it would be worth it to take the kids out of school and do it then, if that is something you wanted to do.... just fyi..

[deziloooooo]

Jun 12, 2011 22:25:47 GMT -5 oped said:

I actually wasn't very impressed by Williamsburg? ... maybe because i still have kids, (and it was like 100 degrees...) ... I liked Sturbridge Village in Mass better... but we went to Monticello on the way to Williamsburg (or out of the way...) and that place is awesome...

Never did Monticello, sorry I missed that, did Mt Vernon though..remember as beautiful a home , over looking the river, that it was, he was so wealthy for that time and place, but compared to the country homes of the Brits of the time, the upper, upper wealthy class, have done those homes , it was primitive in my opinion..now Versailles , now that was something out of who can describe, we spent two days there..just to much for one day, so stayed over ..

Sturbridge is great and so is Mystic Seaport in Connecticut...

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...my vote? ...get off at the Lightfoot exit, turn into the Lowe's/Walmart's shopping center, pass the Sonic and Great Wolf Lodge, stay on the frontage road, and look for Pierce's BBQ up ahead on your right... get the sweet potato fries, too...
...one of the many great reasons to visit Colonial Williamsburg, imo...
;D

[Deleted]

I think we're going to try for Mystic this fall... I'm trying to plan for the group, but people want to do mystic, plymouth, salem... not sure i can get it all in ....