PROGRAM:WILLIAMSBURG
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
Most Students on Tour Education Programs to Colonial Williamsburg include:
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Guided Study Visit of Colonial Williamsburg
With extended time or an additional day programs may include:
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Evening "Lanthorn" Tour or Special Evening Program at Colonial Williamsburg
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Richmond or Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's Estate in Charlottesville
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Jamestown Settlement, and/or Yorktown Victory Center
With another additional day the program may include a side excursion to:
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Historic Richmond, Virginia
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Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's Estate in Charlottesville
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James Madison's Montpelier in Montpelier Station, VA
CLIMATE
The climate of the Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) is very temperate. Winter is mild and short. Spring and fall linger with bursts of color in blossoms and
changing leaves. Summer is hot and humid. Spring temperatures are usually very pleasant with nice breezes and sun; average temperatures are around 60°F. Rain is always possible. Travelers in February and March should have layers of clothing with as it can be cool with the average temperature being around 45°F.
GEOGRAPHY
Williamsburg is located in the middle of The Virginia Peninsula, one of three mainland peninsulas extending from the Virginia mainland. The Peninsula is between the York and the James Rivers. It is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. This area of lowlands stretches about 100 miles inland and is covered with salt marshes and swamps. It’s often called the Tidewater because of the flow of water up and down the coastal inlets and bays as the tide moves in and out. Along the James River is found Jamestown and along the York River is found Yorktown.
ESSENTIALS
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Stopping by Market Square courthouse to put your head and hands or your legs into the pillory or stocks - be sure to have someone take a picture!
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Walking aboard replicas of the ships that brought over the first settlers - the Discovery, the Susan Constant, and the Godspeed at Jamestown.
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Taking an after dark tour with a costumed guide who carries a candle lit "lanthorn".
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Sitting in the House of Burgesses and hearing about the American Revolution.
Get Prepared
WATCH
Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, 1957
Liberty! - The American Revolution, 1998
READ
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1944)
LISTEN
Colonial fife and drum music.
Listen to and read about "The World Turned Upside Down". This song was played by the British army when they surrendered to the Americans at Yorktown.
EAT
Find the Raleigh Tavern Bakery and try a Shrewsbury cake (cookie) or the gingerbread.
DRINK
A lot of water. Also the colonial-style bottled root beer and apple cider (found in shops along Duke of Gloucester Street or at vendors in the Market Square).
IN A WORD:
Colonial!
SURPRISES
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Eighty-eight of the buildings in Colonial Williamsburg are original to the Revolutionary period (1770's).
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Martha Washington's first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, is buried in the churchyard of Williamsburg’s Bruton Parish Church.
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Blackbeard's pirates were locked in the Williamsburg gaol (jail) and after their trials, thirteen of them were hanged to death.