Strolling Duke of Glouchester Street in historic Williamsburg, it is possible to mentally transport oneself to colonial days when the street teemed with people, animals, carts, and wagons. After all, this was Virginia’s capital city, where leaders of government gathered and the gentry met. Today, the street is still busy with crowds of people, but most are here as tourists, seeking a connection to America’s past.
Colonial Williamsburg, a living museum of eighteenthcentury life, was created by restoration efforts begun around 1928, through the vision and sponsorship of two men, the Reverend W. A. R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Junior.
Dr. Goodwin had arrived in Williamsburg in 1903, and discovered that his parish was the site of many eighteenth-century buildings—some in…