D2021-COPY-1014-0090 V]]> Text on verso reads: '"Aunt Mary" at the fireplace in the kitchen of the Governor's Palace.']]> D2021-COPY-1014-0066 V
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The octagonal Powder Magazine is an original eighteenth-century structure and has taken on many different functions over time. Constructed in 1715 under the orders of Governor Spotswood, the Magazine first served as a secure storage site for arms, ammunition, and military equipment. It reprised this role during the Civil War, when Confederate soldiers again stored gunpowder inside. In the late nineteenth century, town residents re-purposed the building for use as a Baptist meetinghouse, dancing school, market, and stable. Efforts by the A.P.V.A. to protect the historic structure led to its preservation as an early tourist attraction in Williamsburg prior to the birth of Colonial Williamsburg.]]>
The caption reads: "Bruton Parish Church. Built in 1678, and rebuilt in 1715, successor to Middletown Church, established 1632. In the Church can be seen three communion services, viz: The Jamestown Service, George III Service, and the Service presented by Lady Gooch in 1686. Also the Bible presented the Church in 1907 by His Majesty, King Edward VII of England, and the handsome bronze lectern by Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt at the same time."]]> AV-99-26-02-V]]>
The stone obelisk memorializing Confederate dead was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy. During annual celebrations of the anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg, a memorial observance was held at the monument. Much to the horror of long-time residents, the monument was eventually removed as restoration work progressed. A court case ensued in 1932, as many residents felt Civil War history and heroes were being overshadowed by the efforts to highlight the town’s colonial history. The obelisk eventually found a new home just outside the historic district at the new James City County Courthouse complex on South England Street. Today, it can be found on Court Street in the Bicentennial Park.]]> Rights and reproductions]]>
The stone obelisk memorializing Confederate dead was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy. During annual celebrations of the anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg, a memorial observance was held at the monument. Much to the horror of long-time residents, the monument was eventually removed as restoration work progressed. A court case ensued in 1932, as many residents felt Civil War history and heroes were being overshadowed by the efforts to highlight the town’s colonial history. The obelisk eventually found a new home just outside the historic district at the new James City County Courthouse complex on South England Street. Today, it can be found on Court Street in the Bicentennial Park.]]> Rights and reproductions]]> Rights and reproductions]]>
Dr. Goodwin added the side porch to the main building’s north façade in 1926 during its renovation as Bruton Parish rectory. Architect Charles M. Robinson, who designed several dormitories for the College of William & Mary, oversaw modifications that included removal of the two-story 19th-century entrance porch and installation of an ornate door surround modeled after the river front example at William Byrd’s Westover plantation on the James River.

The caption reads: "The George Wythe House, 1755, Williamsburg, Virginia. This House, the home of George Wythe, L.L.D., first professor of law in America, teacher of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Henry Clay, Edmund Randolph, and Chief Justice John Marshall, member and speaker of the House of Burgesses, member of the Continental Congress and member of the Committee which prepared the Constitution of the United States, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Chancellor of Virginia and designer of the seal of Virginia.
This house was used by Washington as his headquarters during the Yorktown campaign in 1781."]]> AV-2003-06-62-V]]>
The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) acquired the site of Williamsburg’s colonial Capitol building in 1897 as a donation from the Old Dominion Land Company. They removed remnants of the Williamsburg Female Academy which stood on the site from 1849-1861. Archaeological excavations uncovered the original foundations of the Capitol. The APVA capped the foundations with cement to provide a layer of protection.

A memorial erected in the middle of the excavated foundations in 1904 commemorated members of the House of Burgesses who formed associations against the importation or purchase of British goods. This tablet still exists and was moved to the yard surrounding the reconstructed Capitol building.
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The captions read: "Foundation of Old House of Burgesses, Williamsburg" and "Old Court House, 1769, Williamsburg."]]> Rights and reproductions]]> AV-97-05-01-V]]>
Back of postcard reads: "The Public Gaol, 1701-1704. This building dates from the beginning of the eighteenth- century and has been restored on its original foundations. It includes part of the original structure. The findings of archaeological and documentary research furnished a very complete record for guidance for restoring this unusual structure." ]]> AV-2000-02-77-V]]> Rights and reproductions]]>
This exterior view of the John Blair House shows the residence prior to its restoration. "The John Blair House and Kitchen on the north side of Duke of Gloucester Street was the home of a prominent family of Virginians. The Reverend James Blair (1655-1743), founder and first president of the College of William and Mary, came to Virginia in 1685....The original, easterly part of the John Blair House was built early in the eighteenth century. It is one of the oldest houses in Williamsburg. Town tradition has it that the stone steps at both doors came from the Palace Street theater. The steps were added when the house was lengthened twenty-eight feet to the west sometime during the second quarter of the eighteenth century."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).
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Early visitors to Colonial Williamsburg could dine, lodge, and purchase souvenirs and antiques at the Richard Bland Tavern. This postcard formed part of a set that visitors most likely could find in the tavern gift shop. ]]> Rights and reproductions]]>
Early visitors to Colonial Williamsburg could dine, lodge, and purchase souvenirs and antiques at the Richard Bland Tavern. This postcard formed part of a set that visitors most likely could find in the tavern gift shop. ]]> Rights and reproductions]]>
Early visitors to Colonial Williamsburg could dine, lodge, and purchase souvenirs and antiques at the Richard Bland Tavern. This postcard formed part of a set that visitors most likely could find in the tavern gift shop. ]]> Rights and reproductions]]>