Near Colonial National Historic Parkway, 0.6 miles north of Virginia Route 199, on the right when traveling east.
When Richard Brewster, gentleman, patented some 500 acres in this area on February 6, 1637 it was described as "the great Neck alias the barren neck". Cleared land then, the forest has since grown back. — — Map (db m25816) HM
On West Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles east of Spotswood Street, on the right when traveling east.
Merchant John Greenhow acquired this building before 1782. An 1801 document identifies it as a tenement, or rental property. Little is known about its occupants. — — Map (db m227655) HM
On West Duke of Gloucester Street east of South Nassau Street, on the right when traveling east.
John Curtis IV built a rental property here about 1717. Hartwell Perry purchased the building after the Revolution and used it as a tavern from 1782 to 1800. — — Map (db m226749) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles east of Colonial Street, on the right when traveling west.
William Holt kept a general store here from 1760 to 1770. Later occupants included Milliner Mary Dickinson and merchant John Lewis. — — Map (db m227661) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles east of Colonial Street, on the right when traveling west.
Built about 1772, this building was occupied by grocer M. Dubois until the late 1770s. He sold a variety of goods, including coffee, sugar, and scotch snuff. — — Map (db m227660) HM
Near Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 5) at Richmond Road.
Here are inscribed the names of those soldiers of France who died within these walls and in other hospitals of Williamsburg of wounds received during the Siege of Yorktown
Regiment d’Agenois
Aimont, Jean Francois • Allard. Andre • . . . — — Map (db m66932) HM WM
On Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 5) 0.2 miles east of Landrum Drive, on the left when traveling east.
Using funds from the estate of British scientist Robert Boyle, the College of William & Mary established a school to educate young Indian men in 1697, just four years after the college’s founding. To encourage enrollment, in 1711 Lt. Gov. Alexander . . . — — Map (db m18164) HM
On South Waller Street, 0.2 miles north of East Francis Street, on the right when traveling north.
Militiaman Isham Goddin purchased this shop for £200 in 1778. He sold it in 1783 for £90, indicating the effects of wartime inflation and the collapse of property values after the capital moved to Richmond in 1780. — — Map (db m227766) HM
On East Duke of Glouscester Street, on the right when traveling east.
James Anderson, Blacksmith and Public Armourer, conducted his business on this site between 1770 and 1798. During the Revolutionary War, the Armoury employed as many as forty workmen -- blacksmiths, gunsmiths, tinsmiths, nailers, and gunstockers -- . . . — — Map (db m60415) HM
On West Duke of Gloucester Street east of North Henry Street, on the left when traveling east.
John Blair held a number of political positions between 1728 and 1771. His house is among the oldest in town. The right section dates 1720-1723; The left was added in 1737. — — Map (db m226932) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles east of NorthBotetourt Street.
Built in 1765 by merchant John Carter and his brothers, the right half of the building operated as a general store for nearly 30 years. — — Map (db m227260) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street east of South Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling east.
Owned by John and Rebecca Shields Coke in 1806, this building was termed John Coke’s Office in 1809. The nature of Coke’s business is unknown. — — Map (db m227153) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.2 miles east of North Botetourt Street.
Built about 1719, this building housed a number of taverns over the century. It was purchased in 1789 by jailer John Crump, who continued the tradition. — — Map (db m227254) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street east of South Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling east.
Highly successful tavern keeper Jane Vobe began operating here in 1772. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Nelson and other Revolutionary leaders were among her clients. — — Map (db m227029) HM
On Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 31) 0.1 miles north of Virginia Route 199, on the right when traveling north.
In the second quarter of the 17th-century, merchant George Menefie developed a 1,200-acre plantation just east of here he called Littletown. In March 1633, Dutch trader David DeVies observed that his two-acre garden was "full of Provence roses, . . . — — Map (db m9505) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street just west of North Queen Street, on the right.
Politician Phillip Ludwell III built this house in 1753.
Virginia’s first female printer, Clementina Rind, lived and published a newspaper here from 1766 to 1764. — — Map (db m227656) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street east of North Botetourt Street, on the left when traveling east.
Beginning about 1770, English milliner Margaret Hunter made hats and cloaks, mounted fans, and sold various clothing accessories here. — — Map (db m229968) HM
On Scotland Street at North Nassau Street, on the left when traveling east on Scotland Street.
In 1706, Mary Whaley founded the "Mattey Free School" in memory of her son, Matthew, who died at age 9. In 1741, she left an endowment to educate the children of Williamsburg. In 1870, the College of William and Mary used these funds to build a lab . . . — — Map (db m189484) HM
On Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 5) just south of Cary Street, on the left when traveling south.
Methodism entered Williamsburg when Joseph Pilmor, a "missionary" sent by Wesley, preached in the yard of the Capitol in August 1772. The new faith made only slow progress in the heavily Church of England/Episcopal town. On his first visit in 1781, . . . — — Map (db m167816) HM
Near Colonial National Historic Parkway, 0.6 miles north of Virginia Route 199, on the right when traveling east.
The mound of earth in front of you was probably part of the dam for William Parks' paper mill. His mill was the first in Virginia for making paper and operated six years or more beginning 1744. Parks established the first permanent press in Virginia . . . — — Map (db m25813) HM
On Prince George Street at Scotland Street, on the right when traveling west on Prince George Street.
The Friends of African American History herald the achievements of local African Americans who owned and operated businesses in this triangle block prior to it coming under the jurisdiction of the Williamsburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority, . . . — — Map (db m189145)
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.2 miles east of North Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling west.
Tailor and merchant Robert Nicholson ran his business here. He supplied uniforms to the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. — — Map (db m227258) HM
On Jamestown Road at South Boundary Street, on the right when traveling south on Jamestown Road.
Respected Friend of the Students and Faculty of the College
Gordon S. Kray '73, Sculptor
This statue, a re-creation of the original marble by Richard Hayward (1728-1800) that stood here from 1801 until 1958, was given to the College of . . . — — Map (db m209351) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at Colonial Street, on the right when traveling east on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
Orlando Jones, grandfather of the future Martha Washington, owned this house until 1719. Little is known of its use after that. — — Map (db m226944) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at Blair Street, on the right when traveling east on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
Built about 1755 by lawyer John Palmer, this house closely resembles contemporary dwellings in major English cities such as London and Bristol. — — Map (db m227727) HM
On East Duke of Glouscester Street, on the left when traveling east.
William Pasteur and John Minson Galt traveled to England to study medicine before returning to Williamsburg to practice. They were partners in this apothecary shop from 1775 to 1778. In addition to dispensing drugs, they provided surgical, midwifery . . . — — Map (db m60297) HM
On East Nicholson Street at North England Street, on the right when traveling east on East Nicholson Street.
For more than fifty years this was the home of Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), who served the Colony of Virginia in many of its highest governmental offices and became the first president of the Continental Congress. His father, Sir John Randolph, the . . . — — Map (db m60247) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles east of Colonial Street, on the right when traveling east.
Printers John Dixon and William Hunter published the original Virginia Gazette, did printing work, and sold stationery and books here during the Revolution. — — Map (db m227665) HM
Near North Waller Street south of East Nicholson Street, on the left when traveling north.
Peter Powell lived and worked in this rental property starting in 1755, when he advertised that he would “carry on the business of a wheel wright and chair-maker near the Capitol.” — — Map (db m227781) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at North Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling west on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
This was the house of successful merchant William Prentis and his wife, Mary Brooke Prentis. Their business, Prentis Store, stands a block to the west. — — Map (db m227748) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at Colonial Street on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
Merchant William Prentis oversaw construction of this store in 1740. His family managed the business until 1779. This is the oldest commercial building in town. — — Map (db m227657) HM
On South Waller Street at York Street, on the right when traveling south on South Waller Street.
After receiving permission from the county court, a small group of Presbyterians began worshipping here in 1765. Besides Bruton Parish Church, this meetinghouse was the only authorized place of worship in Williamsburg before the American Revolution. . . . — — Map (db m79237) HM
Near South Henry Street (Virginia Route 132) 0.6 miles north of Humelsine Parkway (Virginia Route 199).
This site was used from 1699 when Governor Nicholson designated it as one of two ports for Williamsburg, the colonial capital of Virginia.
This port was used primarily for the export of tobacco, the basis of Virginia's economy, and also as a . . . — — Map (db m76543) HM
Near Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 5) at Richmond Road.
Chartered February 8, 1693, by King William and Queen Mary. Main buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
First college in the United States in its antecedents, which go back to the college proposed at Henrico (1619). Second to Harvard . . . — — Map (db m66923) HM
Near Quarterpath Road, on the left when traveling south.
On the other side of the parapet is Quarterpath Road, a historic roadbed that for centuries linked Williamsburg to Allen’s Wharf on the James River. It runs behind the Confederate fortifications here, gaining additional importance during the Battle . . . — — Map (db m184202) HM
Near Quarterpath Road, on the left when traveling south.
Because Lt. Col. Benjamin S. Ewell had made little progress on the Williamsburg defenses by late June 1861, Gen. John B. Magruder, commanding the Army of the Peninsula, replaced him with Gen. Lafayette McLaws. Capt. Alfred L. Rives, acting chief of . . . — — Map (db m171658) HM
Near Quarterpath Road (Virginia Route 637) 0.8 miles south of York Street (U.S. 60), on the left when traveling south.
This is Redoubt 2 in the Confederate defensive line across the Peninsula at Williamsburg. Like the other fortifications in the line, Redoubt 2 included platforms for cannons and a magazine within the parapet walls. A ditch surrounded the redoubt. . . . — — Map (db m184146) HM
Near West Court Street at South Henry Street, on the right when traveling east.
This marker commemorates the men and women who achieved American Independence. These Patriots, believing in the noble cause of liberty, fought valiantly to found a new nation.
1775-1783
Presented by the Williamsburg Chapter . . . — — Map (db m245456) WM
On York Street at Page Street, on the right when traveling west on York Street.
Tailor and Merchant Robert Nicolson built this house circa 1751 and lived here until his death in 1797. He ran a successful store on Duke of Gloucester Street, supplying uniforms to the Continental Army during the Revolution. — — Map (db m227749) HM
On West Duke of Gloucester Street at Colonial National Historical Pkwy, on the right when traveling east on West Duke of Gloucester Street.
Merchant Roscow Cole built this brick house by 1812. He sold a general assortment of dry goods, hardware, groceries, paints and clothing from an adjoining wooden store until the 1830s. — — Map (db m227747) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at North Botetourt Street, on the left when traveling east on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
Built about 1745, this house was purchased in 1774 by William Russell, Clerk of the Virginia Court of Admiralty and the Williamsburg District Court. — — Map (db m227686) HM
On North Boundary Street south of Prince George Street, on the right when traveling north.
The Associates of Dr. Bray, a London-based charity, founded a school for enslaved and free black children here in 1760. Located in Williamsburg at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin, a member of the Associates, the school received support from the . . . — — Map (db m150349) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles west of Blair Street, on the right when traveling west.
Merchant Joseph Scrivener bought this house in 1762. He lived here and operated a grocery type business until his death in 1772. — — Map (db m227677) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.2 miles west of 422 E Duke of Gloucester St, on the right when traveling east.
French Huguenot emigrant Jean Marot kept a tavern here, 1708-1717. His daughter, Anne, and her husband, James Fields, followed suit in the 1740s. — — Map (db m227736) HM
Near Boundary Street at West Duke of Gloucester Street, on the left when traveling north.
This first building at the College of William and Mary is the oldest college building in the United States. According to an 18th-century author, it was "first modeled by Sir Christopher Wren, adapted to the Nature of the Country by the Gentlemen . . . — — Map (db m79288) HM
On South Nassau Street north of West Francis Street, on the left when traveling north.
In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, two black preachers, first Moses, then Gowan Pamphlet, began holding religious services out of doors for free blacks and slaves in the Williamsburg area. Although identified as an organized Baptist . . . — — Map (db m55352) HM
On Palace Green Street north of West Nicholson Street, on the right when traveling north.
William Levingston, merchant of New Kent County, built the first theatre in English America on this site c. 1716. For three decades companies of actors entertained audiences at the "Play House" with latest successes from the London Stage. In 1745 . . . — — Map (db m60249) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at South Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling east on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
Merchant James Tarpley built this store about 1759. He advertised a wide array of imported goods, including textiles, hats, china, cutlery, and jewelry. — — Map (db m227031) HM
On Pocahontas Trail (U.S. 60) at Avon Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Pocahontas Trail.
The Battle of Williamsburg, fought on 5 May 1862, was the first major engagement of the Peninsula Campaign. Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, slowly advancing from Hampton Roads toward Richmond, encountered the rear guard of Confederate Gen. . . . — — Map (db m166339) HM
On South Waller Street, 0.2 miles north of East Francis Street, on the right when traveling north.
A 1770 property settlement called this structure…”The Blue Bell, a large house just behind the Capitol.” Long used as a rental, it variously served as a tavern, lodging house, and gunsmith’s shop. — — Map (db m227779) HM
On East Duke of Glouscester Street, on the left when traveling east.
The historic site was the seat of Virginia's colonial government for 75 years. Here in May, 1765, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act and on May 15, 1776, a Virginia Convention unanimously proposed that the Continental Congress "declare the United . . . — — Map (db m60412) HM
Near Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 5) at Richmond Road.
Their Majesties King William & Queen Mary on February the eight, sixteen hundred and ninety-three, granted a charter establishing the College of William and Mary in Virginia “to the end that Church of Virginia may be furnished with a seminary . . . — — Map (db m66929) HM
A charter was granted by King William and Queen Mary in 1693, by fostering “good arts and sciences,” and by educating the youth in “good letters and manners,” the College has maintained its original mission as “a place . . . — — Map (db m18165) HM
On Scotland Street just west of Prince George Street, on the right when traveling west.
The historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg dates its origin back to early colonial days. Blacks were privileged to worship at Bruton Parish Church, but they were not fully included in the worship service. The Blacks built a brush arbor on . . . — — Map (db m167813) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles east of North Botetourt Street when traveling west.
Opened in 1765 by London jeweler and silversmith James Craig, the “Golden Ball” was universally recognized as the sign of a jeweler. — — Map (db m227682) HM
On Scotland Street at Palace Green Street, on the right when traveling east on Scotland Street.
The Governor's Palace was the home of five Royal Lieutenant-Governors, two Royal Governors, and the first two Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. An act by Virginia's General Assembly in 1706 authorized the . . . — — Map (db m60245) HM
Near Duke of Gloucester Street at North England Street, on the right when traveling east.
Erected in 1715, the Magazine was colonial Virginia’s storehouse for guns, ammunition, and military supplies. The action of British Governor Dunmore on the night of April 20-21, 1775, in removing gunpowder belonging to the Colony, touched off the . . . — — Map (db m61632) HM
Near East Duke of Glouscester Street at Blair Street, on the left when traveling east.
Here Patrick Henry first kindled the flames of revolution by his resolutions and speech against the Stamp Act May 29-30, 1765.
Here, March 12, 1773, Dabney Carr offered and the convention of Virginia unanimously adopted the resolutions to . . . — — Map (db m59791) HM
Near Colonial National Historic Parkway, 0.5 miles south of Newport Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
For protection against the Indians, the settlers built a log palisade across the narrows of the peninsula between the York and James rivers. This was about 1633. Middle Plantation (later Williamsburg) began as a settlement along this . . . — — Map (db m25817) HM
Near East Nicholson Street west of North Waller Street, on the left when traveling east.
This was Virginia's chief prison which housed debtors and criminals and served as the jail for the General Court in the nearby Capitol. Here Blackbeard's pirates, captured in 1718, were confined until the day of their hanging. Leg irons, an exercise . . . — — Map (db m79241) HM
On Francis Street West at South Henry Street (Virginia Route 132), on the left when traveling east on Francis Street West.
In 1773, when Williamsburg's Public Hospital opened, it was the first facility in America dedicated solely to the care and treatment of the insane. The original building burned in 1885. Reconstructed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1985, . . . — — Map (db m61309) HM
On East Duke of Glouscester Street, on the left when traveling east.
During Public Times Virginia leaders often met at the Raleigh, Williamsburg's most popular inn. Here in 1769 a group of burgesses adopted the proposal of George Mason for a boycott of British goods. Five years later Burgesses again met in the Apollo . . . — — Map (db m60296) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at Queen Street on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
In 1768, barber and wig-maker Walter Lenox moved “Red Lion” where he “Carries on his business… and … has good accommodations for private lodgers.” — — Map (db m227726) HM
On East Duke of Glouscester Street, on the left when traveling east.
Officials decided to build the Secretary's Office in which to protect the public papers of the Virginia colony after a fire destroyed the first Capitol in 1747. Completed in 1748, the building was designed to be fireproof. This building also . . . — — Map (db m60300) HM
On Richmond Road (U.S. 60), on the right when traveling east.
Generals Washington and Rochambeau and their staffs arrived in Williamsburg on September 14, 1781. Here they gathered their troops and supplies prior to laying siege to Cornwallis at Yorktown 12 miles away on September 28, 1781.
The . . . — — Map (db m10123) HM
On East Duke of Glouscester Street, on the left when traveling east.
This original eighteenth-century building, expanded to its present size after 1751, housed one of the best known taverns in Williamsburg. It bears the name of its builder and first owner, Henry Wetherburn, who previously operated the Raleigh Tavern . . . — — Map (db m60414) HM
On Francis Street East east of Blair Street, on the right when traveling east.
Col. William Finnie acquired this house in the 1770s. He was the officer in charge of supplies for the Southern Department of the Continental Army during the Revolution, and Mayor of Williamsburg from 1783-1784. — — Map (db m227964) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at North Botentourt Street, on the left when traveling south on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
A succession of businesses operated here during the 18th century. Merchant William Pitt sold hats, clothing, housewares, and other goods here during the Revolution. — — Map (db m227681) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street at North Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling west on East Duke of Gloucester Street.
Wealthy planter William Waters lived here from about 1750 until his death in 1767. His widow Sarah owned the house for an additional 30 years. — — Map (db m227717) HM
On East Duke of Gloucester Street, 0.1 miles west of North Botetourt Street, on the right when traveling west.
The storehouse on this site was operated by a succession of merchants. William Waters owned the building from about 1750 until 1767. — — Map (db m227679) HM
On Court Street, on the right when traveling east. Reported permanently removed.
(front)
1861 – 1865
To the Confederate Soldiers and
Sailors of Williamsburg
and James City County.
(right)
“Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
lest we forget – lest we forget!”
(left)
Erected by the Daughters . . . — — Map (db m185511) HM
On Quarterpath Road, on the left when traveling south.
Williamsburg, once the capital of Virginia, declined after the American Revolution. By 1861, although many colonial structures still lined the streets, the Governor’s Palace and former capitol building lay in ruins. The College of William and Mary . . . — — Map (db m171657) HM
On Jamestown Road (Virginia Route 5) just south of Cary Street, on the left when traveling south.
This is the fourth Methodist church building in Williamsburg, occupied in 1964. The site of the first, which was little more than a barn, is not known; the second (1842) stood in Market Square, the third (1926) in Merchant Square. Prominent pastors . . . — — Map (db m167817) HM
Near Colonial National Historic Parkway, 1 mile west of Penniman Road (Virginia Route 641), on the right when traveling east.
On May 5, 1862 Lt. George A Custer (who in 1876 made his “Last Stand” on the Little Bighorn River in Montana) led a detachment along the roadway here over “Cub Dam Creek” to occupy the Confederate work on the bluff immediately beyond. This maneuver . . . — — Map (db m25794) HM
On Merrimac Trail (Route 143) 0.3 miles north of Virginia Route 132, on the right when traveling north.
Nearby lived “Patrick Napier of Queenes Creek in the County of Yorke chirurgeon,” one of the earliest surgeons of Scottish descent in Virginia. Born about 1634, and apprenticed to the surgeon general of the Scottish army defeated by Cromwell in . . . — — Map (db m73941) HM
On Lakeshead Drive, on the right when traveling east.
You are near the northern end of the Confederate defensive line built in 1861 to protect the eastern approach to Richmond. The “Williamsburg Line” stretched between the James and York rivers and consisted of fourteen forts, commonly called . . . — — Map (db m10373) HM
On Penniman Road (Virginia Route 641) east of Vineyard Lane, on the right when traveling west. Reported permanently removed.
Here was an experimental farm for the culture of grapes established by the Virginia government in 1769. On this tract stood a hospital of the French-American army, 1781. — — Map (db m66920) HM
On Penniman Road (County Road 641) 0.1 miles west of Queens Creek Road, on the right when traveling west.
The Virginia General Assembly in 1769 appropriated public funds to purchase a tract of land for the cultivation of grapes and production of wine. Frenchman Andrew Estave managed the vineyard, just north of here. Three enslaved African Americans, . . . — — Map (db m167812) HM
