April 9, 2026
Williamsburg has two primary claims to fame. First, it is the home of The College of William and Mary. Founded in 1693, it is the second oldest college in the United States (after Harvard). Its students include Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and George Washington (who earned his surveyor’s license there). Second, it is the home of Colonial Williamsburg, a massive living-history museum which recreates life in 18th century America – specifically the years leading up to and during the American Revolution. Covering over three hundred acres, it includes over 80 original buildings and hundreds of reconstructed ones and is staffed by historians and actors in period clothing.
We watched an interesting presentation on printing and learned, among other things, that upper and lower case letters get their name from where the type was stored in the printers’ wooden cases.
Much of the clothing worn by the actors and historians working in Williamsburg is made on site by traditional craftsmen and women using eighteenth century methods.
Mal and Lauren 