Yorktown to Norfolk in 230 Years

We finally left our campground in Williamsburg this morning.  Five nights was the longest time we’ve stayed anywhere so far.  Maybe we’re slowing down a bit, or maybe there was just a lot to do in the Williamsburg area.  Being in a place where we could use public transportation for two of the days was also a plus and meant we didn’t have to unhook and move the RV.  It was a very easy and enjoyable visit.

We returned to the Colonial Parkway and headed to Yorktown, which is a part of Colonial National Historical Park.  Yorktown was the last major battle of the American Revolution, and the American victory here in 1781 secured independence for the United States.  We drove the battlefield tour that traces the American and French siege lines of the Battle of Yorktown.  We stopped at the Moore House, where officers from both sides negotiated the surrender terms for British General Cornwallis’s army.  



British Inner Defense Line at the Yorktown Battlefield



Moore House

The most interesting item on display at the Yorktown visitor center was General George Washington’s military tents, dubbed “An American Treasure.”  The story of how the tents were saved by Washington’s grandson and later secured by a slave during the Civil War was just amazing.

We made our way south through traffic and tunnels to tour the Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world.  We saw aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and one of the busiest airfields in the country.  



Retired Aircraft on Exhibit

Another Plane on Exhibit

We also drove by historic houses that were built for the Jamestown Exposition of 1907.  Coincidentally, we had just visited Jamestown yesterday.  I was completely unfamiliar with this exposition. The land on which Naval Station is located was originally the site of the exposition, a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in America. 

The exposition planners invited each of the states to contribute a building that celebrated its history.  Twenty-one states responded.  Many of the houses that were built have been preserved and are located on what is now known as Admirals Row.  It was really interesting to see the houses that were selected by each state.



Missouri House from the Jamestown Exposition

We finally left the state of Virginia after a most enjoyable visit and headed toward the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Where It All Began

After taking the day off yesterday, we resumed our touring today at Jamestown, Virginia. 



Kitty Said "Let's Go"

In 1607, a group of 104 men and boys sailed up the James River to establish the colony of Virginia, thus making Jamestown the first permanent English settlement in North America.  Historic Jamestowne, a part of Colonial National Historical Park, which also includes Yorktown and the Colonial Parkway, is jointly managed by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia.



For a place that contains few above-ground structures, it is a surprisingly compelling site.  For me, it’s not just the seventeenth century history that’s interesting.  I was especially fascinated by the history of archeological investigations at the site, and not just because I’m married to an archeologist!  The National Park Service conducted the first archeological excavations in 1934 after acquiring the area of Jamestown known as New Towne.  J.C. Harrington, who directed the project, is often known as the father of modern historical archeology.

It was always assumed that all traces of the original 1607 James Fort had been lost to shoreline erosion.  Dr. William Kelso thought otherwise, and in 1994 Preservation Virginia launched the Jamestown Rediscovery Project.  Amazingly, more than ninety percent of the original fort has been located and more than one million artifacts have been discovered. 

Tim Surveying the Ongoing Archeological Excavations;
The Original 17th-Century Church Tower and
1907 Memorial Church Are in the Background



Excavation Site of the 1608 Church

Many of the findings of the Jamestown Rediscovery Project are on exhibit at the Voorhees Archaearium.  It’s a wonderful museum totally devoted to interpreting the archeological discoveries at Jamestown.  The most amazing exhibit is the one entitled “Who Shot JR,” which features the skeleton of a man killed by gunshots.  The way in which science and modern technology have enabled the archeologists to learn more about this individual is fascinating.  The museum was my favorite part of our visit to Jamestown.


The Archaearium Is Cantilevered Over the Site of the Statehouse

After exploring the Archaearium, we wandered around the New Towne where the original foundations have been reconstructed.  The original foundations have been reburied to preserve them.  Our last stop was the glasshouse, where we watched glass blowing near the original 1608 glasshouse ruins.

Foundations of the Original Settlement Along the James River



Reconstructed Foundations in New Towne



The Glass Blower at Work

We returned to our campground via the Colonial Parkway, a twenty-three mile scenic byway constructed by the National Park Service to link Virginia’s Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown.  My favorite features of the road are the beautiful brick, arched bridges.  It was a beautiful drive.

Bridges Along the Colonial Parkway

Another Day in Williamsburg

Tim and I headed back to Colonial Williamsburg today with the intention of touring the area around the Capitol building.  We took the tour of the Capitol and then of Charlton’s Coffeehouse, the newest building in Colonial Williamsburg.  The reconstruction of this building was just completed in 2009, and it is the first building to be reconstructed since the mid-1950s.  It’s a simple building, and favorite part of the tour was being served coffee, tea or chocolate at the end.

The Capitol



Charlton's Coffeehouse

After lunch at Shields Tavern, we walked down Duke of Gloucester Street, wandering in and out of many of the buildings.  We discussed medicine with the apothecary, watched the silversmith at work and learned about the process of printing and bindery.



Duke of Gloucester Street



Jewelry Anyone?



Bookbinding Is a 20-Step Process



Another Way to Tour the City

As we walked, I continued to admire the Christmas decorations.  Some were even more creative than the ones we saw yesterday.  We happened to find two that had won blue ribbons in the Christmas decorating contest.

After touring two of the historic houses, the Peyton Randolph House and the George Wythe House, Tim and I both commented about the quality of the tours.  Many of my friends know that I’m not the biggest fan of house tours.  I used to avoid them whenever possible, but I have mellowed in the last few years.  I particularly like tours conducted by National Park Service rangers. 



Peyton Randolph House



Peyton Randolph House Dining Room

Some of the tours we’ve taken the last two days are equal to, or even better, than many given by the National Park Service.  Tim and I both have been very impressed with the interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg.  I especially enjoy the tours where the interpreter is not strictly an eighteenth-century character, but provides a broader interpretation of the site.  The tours we’ve taken have been much more than a description of the objects in the rooms.  Instead, the guides offer a much broader “history lesson.”  They have managed to make history come alive, without lecturing to the audience.

I gained a much better understanding of the issues of the time, the key players and the city where it all took place than I ever had on previous visits.  I have to really complement Colonial Williamsburg and its interpreters for a job well done.

After returning to our campsite, we sat around a campfire with two lovely couples who are camping next to us.  One couple has been full timing in their RV for fourteen years and has visited over 300 units of the National Park Service.  They also collect passport stamps, and it was fun to compare notes and get pointers on places we should visit.

Williamsburg Revisited

During my years in Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg was somewhat of a sanctuary for me.  I loved to wander the streets, linger in the gardens and soak up the atmosphere.  I especially loved to visit during December when Williamsburg celebrates Christmas.  Today I took Tim to visit another one of my favorite places.

Many preservationists dislike Williamsburg.  Some take issue with the notion of returning a town to a point in time, thus requiring the demolition of many buildings that do not fit into that time period.  Others feel Colonial Williamsburg is much too contrived and sugarcoats history.  I’ve never fallen into either camp.  I appreciate what has been accomplished here through exhaustive research and study.

Tim and I were able to take public transportation from our campground into Williamsburg, and we started our visit at the visitor center.  We watched the film Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, which has run continuously since 1957.  I guess some things never go out of style.

We spent a leisurely day in Colonial Williamsburg, touring the Governor’s Palace and Courthouse and eating lunch at Chowning’s Tavern.  The Brunswick stew was delicious.  We wandered the streets and admired the architecture

 

Governor's Palace



Governor's Palace, Garden Facade



Wythe House



Courthouse



Bruton Parish Church

One of my favorite parts of a December visit is the opportunity to view the Christmas decorations on the exteriors of most of the buildings in the historic area.  Many visitors come solely to view these decorations.  All decorations are comprised of natural materials that would have been found in Williamsburg in the eighteenth century.  Assorted greenery is common, as are fruits, nuts and dried flowers.  Many of the wreaths can be rather imaginative.  Some contain shells, dried okra, feathers and even cookies.  Some appear to be very traditional, while others take on a more contemporary look.  It’s always fun to see old favorites as well as innovative ideas.

  

  

Colonial Williamsburg has a wonderful decorative arts museum, the DeWitt Wallace Museum, which displays many of the masterpieces from the collection.  We went there for an in-depth tour of the historic maps with a retired Catholic priest as our guide.  He was quite the character, but gave us an interesting perspective on the development of maps from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century.



Public Hospital of 1773,
Entrance to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts and Folk Art Museums

Christmas trees are nowhere to be found in the historic area since they had not been introduced in the eighteenth century.  It was therefore fun to see the Folk Art Museum Christmas tree.  It is filled with wonderful handmade ornaments inspired by objects in the folk art museum.

Folk Art Museum Christmas Tree

Of course we ended the day with food.  We stopped by the Smithfield Ham shop and took home ham biscuits.  For those of you who have not tasted this delicacy, ham biscuits are simply baking powder biscuits filled with thinly sliced country ham.  Country ham is salt-cured and often rather salty.  It’s another favorite of mine.  I’m happy now.

Mr. Jefferson's Monticello

We finally made it to Charlottesville.  Several weeks ago we visited Montpelier, the home of James Madison.  There wasn’t enough time then to go to Monticello, but it just didn’t seem right for Tim to see Montpelier and skip Monticello.  Since we were coming back to Virginia anyway, a trip to Monticello fell into place.

Monticello is one of my favorite houses, and Thomas Jefferson is one of my favorite presidents.  The two fit together perfectly.  Jefferson planned every aspect of Monticello, and started its construction in 1768.  Over the next forty years, Jefferson would design, construct and remodel to create his “essay in architecture.”  The design broke away from the Georgian style favored by most of his contemporaries, and Jefferson embraced a more classical style, influenced by Italian architect Andrea Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture.



West Facade



East Facade

The interior of Monticello especially reflects Jefferson’s personality, particularly his distaste of wasting space.  Many of the conveniences he created are on display, including a self-closing door, a revolving bookstand and a polygraph or machine for copying letters.

Our tour was limited to the first floor, but rooms in the dependencies were also open.  The dependencies that contain the kitchen, smokehouse, stables and other areas for domestic work are hidden beneath the main house, terraces and pavilions.  This not only kept those activities mostly out of sight, but also preserved the views towards the Blue Ridge Mountains.



Dependencies on Both Sides of the Main House Are Concealed in the Hillside



South Dependency Wing

Monticello has evolved with the times and now includes a strong interpretive focus on the lives and contributions of the slaves who worked there.  Jefferson hated the institution of slavery, but he continued to own slaves.  He felt that slavery was an issue for future generations to deal with.


View from the Vegetable Garden



Garden Pavilion

I loved our visit to Monticello, especially on such a beautiful day, and am glad that we arranged our route to include it.



An Amazing House



North Through Virginia

As we made our way north towards Charlottesville yesterday, we decided to make a few stops, first at Booker T. Washington National Monument and then Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. 

The Booker T. Washington National Monument preserves the James Burroughs farm where Washington was born a slave in 1856.  Washington lived on the 207-acre tobacco farm with his mother, who was the farm’s cook, until the Emancipation Proclamation set him free at age nine.  Washington was poor and uneducated when he left.  When he visited the farm in 1908, he was the president of Tuskegee Institute and one of the most influential black men of his time.  Exhibits in the visitor center provide a comprehensive overview of Booker T. Washington’s life from slave to leading educator and spokesperson for black Americans.



Sculpture of Booker T. Washington as a Young Boy, by Lloyd Lillie



Reconstructed Slave Cabin and Kitchen



Rural Farm Life in Virginia



Why Did I Get a Sudden Urge for Barbeque?



Sheep Were Raised for Meat and Wool

Booker T. Washington National Monument also interprets farm life in Virginia at the time of the Civil War.  Although none of the original farm buildings remain, the site of a slave cabin similar to the one in which Washington was born and the Burroughs house are outlined with stones.  Other farm buildings have been reconstructed.  This farm was not a plantation, but a small, rural farm, where the owner worked alongside his slaves.

Since Tim and I have visited so many Civil War sites, we thought it only fitting that we stop at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.  It was here that Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, thus ending the Civil War.  Appomattox Court House is preserved as the small village that existed during the mid-nineteenth century.  Many original houses, stores and offices are still standing, although both the courthouse and the McLean House, where the actual surrender took place, have been reconstructed.



Appomattox County Courthouse on the Right



McLean House

Clover Hill Tavern and Guesthouse

It was quiet and still at Appomattox while we were there in the late afternoon, and it was very peaceful wandering along the country lanes and viewing the exhibits in the buildings.  Even though we will continue to tour other Civil War sites as we travel south, visiting Appomattox in a way provided a sense of closure.

Meeks Store and Appomattox County Courthouse



McLean House and Outbuildings

It was too late to drive on to Charlottesville, so we stopped at James River State Park.  What a nice park.  It combined the best of state parks with a pretty natural setting and large, private campsites, with the amenities usually found only at private campgrounds.  Not only were there hookups and very clean bathrooms and showers, but a nice laundry room as well.  We liked it so much that we decided this morning to stay another day.