The Williamsburg-Yorktown-Jamestown Area
The Governor’s Palace at Williamsburg
Only an hour’s drive southeast of Richmond on Route 60 is the most historic area to be found anywhere in America.
Here is Williamsburg, the former center of English culture in the new world, almost completely restored to its eighteenth century appearance. Here you will see the historic Colonial Capitol, The Governor’s Palace and its beautiful grounds, the famous Raleigh Tavern, the Public Gaol, the famed Sir Christopher Wren Building of the College of William and Mary and many other colonial structures restored through the beneficence of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Seven miles from Williamsburg is Jamestown Island where in 1607 the first permanent settlement of English speaking people in the New World was established. A ruined tower of an early Colonial church still stands here, and many interesting relics are on display in the grounds which are under the supervision of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.
Yorktown is only fifteen miles from Williamsburg. This famous little town which saw a great nation come into being bears a great heritage. It was here that proud Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender to General George Washington and his continental forces in 1781. The original fortifications erected during the great siege of Yorktown have been restored. Historic buildings and relics of the Revolution make Yorktown a spot which every American citizen should visit.
Less than an hour’s drive from the Colonial Williamsburg area is Hampton Roads, an important channel through which the waters of three rivers pass into the Chesapeake Bay. Fort Monroe, on Old Point Comfort, and Fort Wool, on an island in the channel, defend the entrance from the Bay. It was in Hampton Roads that the first battle between iron-clad vessels, the Monitor and the Merrimac, took place on March 9, 1862. President Lincoln, Secretary Seward and Confederate commissioners held their “Hampton Roads Conference” on a steamer near Fort Monroe on February 3, 1865.
Be sure to visit Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown and the Hampton Roads area during your visit to Richmond, for nowhere else may you cover as much historic and hallowed ground in a single day. This famous area may be reached quickly and conveniently. Ask for information which will facilitate your trip there.
