The ShoreXplorers: Digging Williamsburg - Colonial History with Marina [July 26, 2017]

The Dig

Colonial Williamsburg is a living history museum where costumed guides and artisans bring colonial Virginia to life. Throughout the historic district are shops where you can see artisans doing and learn about cabinet making, silversmithing, shoe making, wig making and all sorts of other trades that were present in the town during the Colonial times. You can also tour the Capitol building and the Governor's Palace. There is a lot to do and we only had one day, so we were busy.

Guides in Costume

We decided to walk from the Visitors Center and the parking area into the historic district. On the way we passed the Great Hopes Plantation, a middle class plantation and a contrast to the town life depicted in Williamsburg.

Using a trowel to scrape away layers of dirt looking for artifacts

Analyzing artifacts found in dig

As we approached the historic district, a volunteer told us about an archeological dig for kids, where they are uncovering artifacts in the foundations of an old store room. Located near the Prentis Store, the store room had been excavated in the 1950s by the architectural team and then filled back in with the same dirt. The Dig project is carefully unearthing 18th century artifacts that got jumbled up in the fill dirt, as a way of exploring daily life in Williamsburg. Marina said that she wanted to do it, so off we went to the Dig. Before we knew it, Marina was three feet down in the foundations of the old building with 20 other kids digging for artifacts with a team of real archeologists. Afterwards, they analyzed the glass, shells, pottery, nails and other artifacts that they uncovered.

The Capitol

We visited the silversmith's shop and learned that people were paid with silver dollars that had a certain weight in silver. These coins could be made into objects (like a bowl), but never lost their value in silver. If you were paying for something with a coin, you got change back by having the coin cut in half (half dollar), or having a quarter of the coin returned, or getting a half of a quarter which was called a "bit". [Do you remember the saying, "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar"?] You could also pay with your silver bowl and got change by having the appropriate weight of silver cut off of the bowl and returned to you. So interesting!

The Governor's Palace

We lunched at Shields Tavern in the candle lit basement, served by staff in colonial garb. After lunch, we dodged the summer heat by visiting the larger indoor (and air conditioned) buildings. We started with the Capitol where we had a fascinating description of how the government ran in Colonial Virginia. Then we ventured to the Governor's Palace where we saw how the royal emissary and his family lived. There were two State Governor's to live in the Palace after the Revolution, Patrick Henry ("Give me liberty or give me death") and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson followed his architectural interests and drew plans of the building. It was Jefferson who moved the State Capitol to Richmond. Sometime later, the Governor's Palace burned down. Jefferson's plans were used to reconstruct the building in the 1930s.

Governor's Meeting Room in the Capitol

You could spend several days visiting Colonial Williamsburg and still never see and do everything. After our one (very full) day, we left with more things to do when we come back. Such a special place.

Meanwhile back at the campsite at the end of the day, we enjoyed some s'mores. Photos below...